IPL 2026, PBKS vs RR 40th Match Preview

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How do you stop a Punjab Kings (PBKS) batting pitch that looks perfectly rolled?

Priyansh Arya kicks down the door in the showdown. Prabhsimran Singh keeps the plot moving at a high pace. Rookie Cooper Connolly isn’t leaving without leaving a mark. And Shreyas Iyer walks in like a man who already knows the ending. If something is unfinished, Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh provide small, impactful cameos.

In IPL 2025, they scored the most runs for any IPL team in one season (3140). This year they have taken it to another level in their six innings by scoring at 11.74 per over. No team has ever scored such fast runs in the IPL. Most dangerously, their batting average per wicket – 43.83 – is also the highest for any team across all IPL seasons.

After Saturday’s performance to complete the highest successful chase in T20 cricket history – with a cool seven balls to spare – they now have 13 points from seven matches, a start never seen before in an IPL season.

Do Rajasthan Royals (RR) have the bowling to stop them in the first meeting between the two teams this season? Well, maybe.

Nandre Burger also quietly had the upper hand over most of the batsmen, even if the tally of eight wickets did not reflect that. Forty-six percent of all shots attempted from his bowling this season were fakes, the highest number for any bowler.

But bowling well alone will not do. Even if PBKS scores 30 runs less than usual, RR will still need more than just Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s blitz and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s solidity. Their numbers 4 to 8 are still among the worst this season, with just one half-century, a strike rate of 126 and an average of 20.6. Forget the two points against PBKS until that side of their game sees a turnaround, but RR will also be at risk of slipping off the table.

Form guide

Punjab Kings WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals LWLLW

big questions

Shimron Hetmyer scored 72 runs in six innings, averaging 14.40 and 116.12. And it wasn’t for lack of opportunities to spend time in the middle. After seeing the freedom with which young batsmen operate in the IPL, should RR throw in the hard hitting Lhuan-dre Pretorius again?

In the spotlight

PBKS spinner Yuzvendra Chahal you lost his effectiveness after a super start to the season. In his last four outings he has just one wicket, while his economy in those matches was 11.1. One skill of Chahal is his ability to take out dots, but that too has been lacking in this period, averaging just one per over. He struggles to create pressure and therefore does not find the wickets either. Has the IPL’s highest wicket-taker in history lost its spark?

You ask anyone in the RR camp Ryan Parag‘s form at press conferences, and the answer is the same: he hits it beautifully at the nets. However, with 88 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 112.82, Parag’s numbers are even worse than Hetmyer discussed above. Since he is the captain, giving him a break from the XII is a more complex decision. When will Parag’s fine touch in the nets turn after some substantial runs on the park?

Team news

There are no injury concerns in either team. RR’s changes, if any, will be form-based or last-minute. There is no update yet on Connolly’s availability to bowl.

Punjab Kings (probable) 1 Prabhsimran Singh (wk), 2 Priyansh Arya, 3 Cooper Connolly, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Nehal Wadhera, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Shashank Singh, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Xavier Bartlett, 10 Vijaykumar Vyshvensh, 1, 2 Chahal

Rajasthan Royals (probable) 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Donovan Ferreira, 6 Shimron Hetmyer/Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Tushar 101pande, Burger Desh, Brijendre, 9 Tushar 101, Burger 12 Ravi Bishnoi

Pitch and conditions

Place no. 4 in New Chandigarh was the one where PBKS met Gujarat Titans and chased down a target of 163 in a relatively tight finish. Dew is a factor in night games at this venue, and while chasing looks beneficial at first glance, the numbers say otherwise – the team batting first has won two of the last three games at this stretch after posting 205 and 228. The throwing decision will be a headache.

Statistics and trivia