Shreyas Iyer Blames PBKS Powerplay Collapse After Sixth Straight IPL 2026 Defeat Against RCB

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer admitted that RCB’s explosive powerplay batting and PBKS’ poor start with the bat proved decisive in their sixth consecutive defeat of IPL 2026.

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer believes the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru was decided during the powerplay after RCB batters tore apart the bowling attack in the opening overs at Dharamsala.

Batting first on a challenging surface, RCB came out aggressively and raced to 61/1 inside the first six overs. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal attacked from the beginning and prevented PBKS bowlers from settling into rhythm.

The aggressive start laid the perfect foundation for Bengaluru to post a massive total of 222 runs, leaving Punjab Kings under immense pressure during the chase.

“Obviously, they got off to a great start and then started taking on the bowlers right after the power play. I think getting to 222 was a commendable performance and we were not able to take wickets in the bowling that much, but yeah, I think the match was lost in the powerplay,” Iyer said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Punjab Kings Suffer Another Top-Order Collapse

The problems continued for Punjab Kings during their chase as RCB bowlers struck early to remove both openers along with captain Shreyas Iyer inside the powerplay.

PBKS were reduced to 49/3 in the first six overs, which immediately pushed them onto the back foot in the steep run chase. The lack of momentum at the top order further exposed Punjab’s recent struggles in IPL 2026.

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Iyer admitted that losing early wickets disrupted the batting structure completely, especially with the team heavily relying on explosive starts from Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya throughout the season.

The defeat marked Punjab Kings’ sixth consecutive loss in the tournament after they had earlier dominated the first half of the season with six wins and one no-result from their opening seven matches.

Playoff Qualification Now Gets Complicated For PBKS

Punjab Kings now find themselves in a difficult playoff situation following another damaging defeat. Despite a brilliant start to IPL 2026, the team has slipped badly during the second half of the campaign.

Even if PBKS manage to win their final league-stage match, they may still have to depend on multiple other results and net run rate calculations to secure qualification for the playoffs.

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Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru strengthened their position near the top of the points table with another dominant victory. With momentum on their side, RCB now remain strong contenders for a top-two finish heading into the final phase of the league stage.