17 May, 1:00 PM
VS
199/8 (20)
:222/4
RCB won by 23 runs
Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
AI Predictions
Predictions are based on real, up-to-date data — player and team stats, expected lineups, injury reports, pitch conditions, recent news and more. AI models compare their estimates against bookmaker odds to find the best value bets.
1.96Total: under 391.5 (runs)
300$ LOSS RCB sit top of the table and can confirm playoffs with victory. PBKS have lost five straight and face a major batting crisis. Unknown afternoon conditions in Dharamsala add intrigue to this crucial clash.
1.76RCB win
500$ WIN RCB sit top of the table needing one win to qualify. PBKS are on a five-match skid and must win both remaining games. The pressure is firmly on one side.
1.96Total: under 391.5 (runs)
300$ LOSS PBKS need a result to stay in control of their own fate, but RCB arrive top with answers for every phase.
1.76RCB win
250$ WIN RCB need one win to seal a top-four spot. PBKS are on a five-match losing streak and fighting for survival.
1.76RCB win
500$ WIN RCB can seal a top-four spot with a win, while PBKS are on a five-match losing streak and need to win both remaining games to have any chance.
1.76RCB win
350$ WIN Royal Challengers Bengaluru are just one win away from securing a playoff spot. They face a Punjab Kings side desperate to snap a dismal five-match losing streak in Dharamsala.
Facts Radar
3:05 pm, 17.05ESPNcricinfo
PBKS vs RCB Live Score, IPL 2026: Rematch of IPL 2025 final- Rajat Patidar will not captain RCB in this match; Jitesh Sharma will captain RCB instead. Patidar took a blow to his head off Kartik Tyagi's bowling against KKR — unclear if he will play at all or only bat.
- RCB are top of the points table with 16 points; another win will seal their playoffs spot.
- PBKS have lost five games in a row after being unbeaten in the first seven games, slipping from top to fourth place. Off-field issues have also seeped into the team in the second half.
- Match is in Dharamsala; PBKS have won just one of their last seven games at this venue.
- Shreyas Iyer will captain his 100th IPL match; he has joint-best IPL captaincy win percentage (58.3%, level with MS Dhoni, min. 60 matches).
- PBKS have scored as well as conceded eight 200-plus totals in this IPL, both joint-most in one IPL edition.
- PBKS toss luck has been poor — coin fell in their favour only once in the last five outings.
- PBKS batting form has dropped sharply: top-seven strike rate during balls 21-30 fell from 251.80 (in six wins) to 132.60 (in five losses). Key individual declines: Prabhsimran Singh SR 192.60→139.40, Shreyas Iyer 186→128.60, Priyansh Arya 249→166.70, Shashank Singh 194.40→85.70.
- PBKS bowling has been leaking runs at wrong times, fielding described as forgettable during losing streak.
- RCB have the best middle-overs (7-16) scoring rate of 10.40 in IPL 2026; PBKS are second at 10.10. Rajat Patidar leads with 28 sixes in that phase, Iyer second with 21.
- Virat Kohli has 1159 runs against PBKS — the most by any batter against them.
10:08 pm, 16.05ESPNcricinfo
RCB one win away from playoffs as they face struggling PBKS - Phil Salt is still not back in India since flying home earlier this month to get his finger checked; he remains unavailable for RCB.
- Jacob Bethell will continue to open with Virat Kohli in Salt's absence.
- PBKS are on a five-match losing streak (LLLLL); their batting strike rates have dropped significantly in the second half of the tournament.
- Key PBKS batters' strike rates have dropped sharply in the last five losses: Prabhsimran Singh from 192.60 to 139.40, Shreyas Iyer from 186 to 128.60, Priyansh Arya from 249 to 166.70, Shashank Singh from 194.40 to 85.70.
- PBKS top-seven strike rate during balls 21-30 has fallen from 251.80 (in six wins) to 132.60 (in five losses), indicating set batters are struggling.
- PBKS brought in Azmatullah Omarzai (38 off 17 and 2 for 36) for Marcus Stoinis in their last game; the choice between the two remains open for this match.
- Shreyas Iyer has struggled against Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SR 90, out 3 times in 11 innings) and Josh Hazlewood (4 dismissals in 6 innings, 11 runs off 22 balls) in IPL history.
- Jitesh Sharma is having his worst IPL season since debut in 2022 — just 90 runs off 76 balls, dismissed by pace 8 times in 10 innings, RCB's main weakness area.
- RCB form: WWLLW; they sit at No. 1 on the table and will confirm a playoffs spot with a win.
- Dharamsala will host its first day game of IPL 2026; all ten prior day games this season were won by the chasing side, suggesting the toss could be crucial.
- The same pitch as the recent DC match will be used. Temperatures expected around 20°C.
- PBKS have won just one of their last seven games in Dharamsala.
- PBKS have scored and conceded eight 200-plus totals this IPL, both joint-most in a single IPL edition.
- RCB have the best middle-overs (7-16) scoring rate of 10.40 this IPL; Rajat Patidar has the most sixes (28) in that phase.
- RCB assistant coach Omkar Salvi expressed strong confidence in Bethell as a world-class T20 player who adapts to situations.
8:36 pm, 16.05Cricbuzz
PBKS look to close out Dharamsala leg with a turnaround- PBKS are on a five-match losing streak. Shreyas Iyer said they need to win two out of two remaining matches.
- PBKS catching has been abysmal and bowling sub-par this season.
- Lockie Ferguson missed the previous DC fixture with a slight niggle but PBKS head of sports science Andrew Leipus said he is 'pretty sure' they will have a full squad to choose from, offering optimism about Ferguson's availability.
- RCB can seal the first playoffs spot with a win. No new known absences reported for RCB.
- This is the first afternoon fixture (3:30 PM IST) at Dharamsala this season; conditions are somewhat unknown as previous games were evening starts. Andrew Leipus said even PBKS don't know what to expect.
- The venue has favoured fast bowlers — the first game at Dharamsala saw 39 overs of pace and no spin.
- Virat Kohli strikes at 172.81 in the first 10 balls of IPL 2026; he scored 92 off 47 in his last outing in Dharamsala.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the best Powerplay economy rate in IPL 2026 (6.92, min 10 overs). He matches up well against all of PBKS' top three: dismissed Prabhsimran Singh 5 times in 57 balls, Shreyas Iyer has fallen 3 times and scored 45 off 50 against him.
- Shreyas Iyer has fallen to Josh Hazlewood 4 times in 22 deliveries.
- Virat Kohli strikes at 174.13 against Arshdeep Singh. Arshdeep has dismissed Devdutt Padikkal 4 times in 43 balls.
- RCB lead the head-to-head 6-1 since 2023, including Q1 and the final last year. Overall H2H: RCB lead 19-18.
- PBKS Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
- RCB Probable XII: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood.
- PBKS are one of only four teams to use the same opening pair all season; Arya and Prabhsimran have the best opening partnership run-rate (12.94).
7:28 pm, 16.05ESPNcricinfo
Hazlewood: Bowling with Bhuvi 'a bit like bowling with Patty, Starcy'- Hazlewood has been managing a string of lower-body injuries including a right hamstring strain and Achilles soreness that forced him out of the Ashes and T20 World Cup, but says his body is now feeling good and rhythm is pretty good after playing several games in a row.
- Hazlewood took 4 for 12 against DC at Kotla and 1 for 20 against LSG at Ekana this season, showing flashes of his best form.
- In IPL 2025 final vs PBKS, Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced a death-bowling masterclass, conceding just 28 runs in the final four overs with eight yorkers — relevant as they face PBKS again on Sunday.
- Hazlewood says RCB haven't played their best cricket in one complete game yet this season despite being on top of the table, and hopes to build towards the back end like last year.
- Rasikh Salam has stepped into the left-arm angle role vacated by Yash Dayal, giving RCB bowling variety.
5:12 pm, 16.05Cricbuzz
IPL 2026 Qualification Scenarios: GT, RCB a win away; CSK, KKR bank on other results- LSG are eliminated from playoff contention at 8 points (4W-8L), NRR -0.701.
- MI are eliminated from playoff contention at 8 points (4W-8L), NRR -0.504.
1:10 am, 16.05ESPNcricinfo
IPL 2026 scenarios: eight teams still in contention with 11 games to go- GT (16 pts, NRR 0.551) need one more win to ensure top-four finish and two wins to secure top-two. Remaining: KKR (A), CSK (H).
- RCB (16 pts, NRR 1.053) need one win to make sure of qualification. If they win both, they finish top two. RCB's two remaining matches are both away from home, where they have only won 2 out of 5 this season.
- SRH (14 pts, NRR 0.331) need to win their last two games (CSK away, RCB home) to be sure of qualification.
- PBKS (13 pts, NRR 0.355) have lost five in a row. If they win both remaining matches (RCB home, LSG away) to reach 17, qualification is guaranteed as it's impossible for four other teams to reach 17.
- CSK (12 pts, NRR 0.027) can still qualify if they win their last two matches (SRH home, GT away) to reach 16, but even 16 may not be enough.
- RR (12 pts, NRR 0.082) have lost five of their last seven. Need to win all three remaining (DC away, LSG home, MI away) to qualify for sure. Their remaining matches are against bottom-four teams.
- KKR (9 pts, NRR -0.198) can only reach 15 points maximum. All three remaining games are at home. They are at the mercy of other results.
- DC (10 pts, NRR -0.993) need to win their last two by big margins and hope other results go their way. Worst NRR among all teams.
- Eight teams are still in contention for four playoff spots with 11 games remaining. No team has confirmed their place yet.
9:27 pm, 15.05ESPNcricinfo
Tilak Varma, Shardul Thakur hand PBKS fifth successive defeat- MI beat PBKS by 6 wickets in Dharamsala. MI 205/4 chasing PBKS 200/8.
- Hardik Pandya (MI regular captain) is still recovering from back spasms and missed the PBKS match.
- Suryakumar Yadav missed the PBKS match due to personal reasons.
- Jasprit Bumrah captained MI for the first time in the IPL against PBKS.
- Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten 75 off 33 balls as the match-winning knock for MI.
- Shardul Thakur took 4-39 and triggered a PBKS middle-order collapse.
- Prabhsimran Singh scored 57 off 32 for PBKS but was dropped twice (on 5 by Naman Dhir off Bumrah, on 28 by Corbin Bosch).
- PBKS brought in Vishnu Vinod as Impact Player during batting, meaning they couldn't bring in an extra bowler.
- Shreyas Iyer was bowled for a low score by Shardul Thakur.
- PBKS have now lost five matches in a row and are stuck on 13 points from 12 games.
- PBKS's big-hitting form has dried up since their 265 against DC on April 25.
- PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin admitted the team hasn't been able to handle pressure in recent defeats.
- Yuzvendra Chahal had figures of 3-0-12-1 but was held back from bowling to left-handers Tilak Varma and Sherfane Rutherford, and was then hit for 20 in his final over. Analysts criticized PBKS for not finishing Chahal's overs when he was on a roll.
- Cooper Connolly is still making big contributions for PBKS.
- PBKS's next game is against RCB (day game in Dharamsala), then LSG away.
5:12 pm, 15.05Cricbuzz
Data Shorts: The complementary ways of the Prabhsimran-Arya madness- PBKS have lost five straight matches in IPL 2026, sliding after a strong start to the campaign.
- PBKS have lost six of their last seven games in Dharamsala, where they play again on Sunday (May 17 vs RCB).
- Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya remain the only opening pair used by PBKS across IPL 2025 and 2026, averaging 36.64 at a run-rate of 10.93; in IPL 2026 they average 44.9 at a run-rate of 12.94.
- Prabhsimran Singh is in excellent form: 988 runs in 28 innings across IPL 2025-2026 at an average of 36.59 and strike rate of 164.66.
- Priyansh Arya's strike rate in the first 10 balls of his innings in the IPL is 189.02 (since 2025), second only to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (209.52) among regular openers.
- PBKS bat deep but suffered a rare middle-order failure in their most recent match (vs MI), and their bowling attack has been struggling along with poor fielding.
- Their opponents on Sunday (RCB) are the current table-toppers in IPL 2026.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been crucial for RCB with the new ball, especially in recent matches, and the article highlights his battle against PBKS' opening pair as a key factor for the upcoming match.
- The match is described as a pivotal contest between the 2025 IPL finalists (PBKS and RCB).
3:30 pm, 15.05ESPNcricinfo
RCB sign Gleeson as replacement for Thushara- CSK have signed Indian fast bowler Kuldip Yadav as an injury replacement for Khaleel Ahmed, who suffered a right quadricep injury against KKR and is out for the season. Khaleel took 2 wickets in 5 matches at an economy of 8.67.