Rajasthan Royals handed Punjab Kings their first defeat of the Indian Premier League 2026 after chasing down a strong 223 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh on Tuesday, April 28. The Royals’ middle-order finally came to the party as Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey took the team home with an unbeaten 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket that won the game for the Royals with four balls remaining.
The Royals’ middle order has been under scrutiny in recent times, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal doing the heavy lifting. The two took the visitors off to a flier with a 51-run stand in just 20 balls. While Sooryavanshi made 43 from 16 balls, Jaiswal carried on for a bit longer to make 51 from 27 deliveries. However, the Royals were in a bit of trouble when they lost captain Riyan Parag.ย
RR needed 72 from the last 42 balls, and the middle-order failure threat loomed large. However, Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey partnered for an unbeaten 78-run stand. Dubey, the impact sub, scored 31 from 12 balls, while the South African all-rounder made 52 from 26 deliveries and finished the match with a six.ย
RR jump to third in points table;ย top four takes shape
With this win, the Royals have jumped to the third spot in the points table from fourth. They have 12 points from nine matches, leapfrogging Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have 10 points from eight games.ย
Punjab are still on top with 13 points from eight matches, while the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are second with 12 points from eight outings. The top four are now taking shape as the Gujarat Titans sit fifth with eight points from eight matches. Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals follow next with six points each from eight outings each.
Kolkata Knight Riders are eighth with five points from eight games, Mumbai Indians ninth (four points from seven) and Lucknow Super Giants at the bottom (four points from eight).
Here’s the latest IPL 2026 points table after PBKS vs RR game
| Teams | Played | Won | Lost | No Result | Points Table | Net Run-Rate |
| Punjab Kings | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 1.043 |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1.919 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0.617 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0.815 |
| Gujarat Titans | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -0.475 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -0.121 |
| Delhi Capitals | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -1.060 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | -0.751 |
| Mumbai Indians | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | -0.736 |
| Lucknow Super Giants | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | -1.106
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