Venkatesh Iyer and Rasikh Salam guide RCB to IPL 2026 playoffs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings by 23 runs in the 61st match of IPL 2026 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. RCB posted 222 for 4 and restricted Punjab Kings to 199 for 8.

Venkatesh Iyer remained unbeaten on 73 off 40 balls while Rasikh Salam claimed 3 for 36. Virat Kohli scored 58 and Devdutt Padikkal added 45 in RCB's total. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2 for 38 to extend his lead on the Purple Cap with 24 wickets. Jitesh Sharma led RCB in the absence of injured captain Rajat Patidar.

The win made RCB the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs. Punjab Kings suffered their sixth straight loss and sit on the brink of elimination with one game left. Punjab Kings fast bowling coach James Hopes admitted the team was always chasing momentum with the ball.