Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be wondering how their season has collapsed after making a great start to the season. What looked like a mere formality, the playoff qualification is now under severe threat after losing five successive games. One more loss for the home team can certainly deal a massive blow to Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) just needs one more win to secure their place in the playoffs. The defending champions played amazing cricket in their last game to beat the Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur. Virat Kohli’s masterful ton saw the side chase down the target with relative ease and almost book their place in the top four.
Details of the PBKS vs RCB Match
Match: Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans, Match 61
Date and Time: 17th May, 3:30 PM
Venue: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports network channels and JioHotstar App and Website
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium Pitch Report
In the previous two games played at this venue, the matches have seen 200 runs being scored with ease. Things could change because this is a day game, and the pitch could offer a lot of assistance to the slower bowlers later in the day. The captain winning the toss will look to bat first and put big runs on the board. It will be yet another high-scoring game, with the pitch expected to hold up well for most of the contest.
PBKS vs RCB Head-to-Head
Matches – 37
PBKS – 18
RCB – 19
PBKS vs RCB Predicted playing XIs
Punjab Kings – Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuvendra Chahal.
Impact player – Harpreet Brar
Royal Challengers Bengaluru – Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood.
Impact player – Rasikh Salam Dar
PBKS vs RCB: Predicted best performers of the match
Best batter – Virat Kohli
Former RCB skipper suffered a slight blip in form when he scored two successive ducks. Virat Kohli then came back to form in fine style when he scored his ninth ton in the league against KKR. The 37-year-old has batted well against PBKS in the past, and one can expect him to continue his bright run-scoring purple patch.
Best bowler – Arshdeep Singh
The left-arm pacer was the best bowler of the night despite going wicketless against the Mumbai Indians. Arshdeep Singh bowled four overs for 29 runs and kept the batters in check with his tight bowling. RCB batters may find it difficult to play the seamer when the ball is new, and the conditions do tend to offer swing early in the game.
Who will win the PBKS vs RCB match 61 of IPL 2026?
This is the first meeting between the two sides after the IPL final last season, which was won by RCB. On current form, Rajat Patidar and his team will start as the favourites for the game. Bengaluru’s batting form, as well as their world-class pace bowling unit, has put many sides under pressure, and Sunday could be no different.
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