In the 60th match of IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Gujarat Titans by 29 runs. By winning this match, GT could have become the first team to reach the playoffs, but KKR did not allow this to happen at the moment. Now only 10 matches are left in the league stage, out of which 2 will be held today (PBKS vs RCB and DC vs RR) and till now no team has been able to confirm its place for the playoffs.

There has been only one change in the points table after Kolkata Knight Riders’ victory against Gujarat Titans. Gujarat remains at its second position, Kolkata has moved from eighth to seventh position. This was Kolkata’s 5th win in 12 matches, the team has 11 points.

Top-4 teams and their equation to reach the playoffs

At number one is Royal Challengers Bangalore, which has won 8 out of 12 matches. Today, by defeating Punjab Kings, RCB can become the first team to reach the playoffs. Punjab has 13 points in 12 matches, the team is in fourth place. If Punjab does not win today then their chances of going to the playoffs will reduce.

Gujarat Titans remain in second place, which has won 8 out of 13 matches. Now only one match of Gujarat is left. Sunrisers Hyderabad is at third place, which has 14 points after 12 matches. SRH’s next two matches are with CSK and RCB. To go to the playoffs, they have to win at least 1 match to maintain their hopes.

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RR, CSK, KKR and DC also in the race

Rajasthan Royals, who are at number five, are facing Delhi Capitals today. RR has won 6 out of 11 matches, they have to win at least 2 out of the remaining 3 matches. Delhi is at number eight, which if it loses today, will become the third team to be out of the playoff race. Delhi will still reach only 14 points by winning both its matches.

Chennai Super Kings, situated at number six, has won 6 out of 12 matches, the team can reach 16 points by winning both its matches. Their match is with GT and SRH, these two matches will decide who will go to the playoffs.

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Kolkata Knight Riders have kept their playoff hopes alive by defeating Gujarat. By winning both the remaining matches, KKR will reach 15 points, then depending on the results of other teams, they may have a chance to go to the playoffs.

Today, the first match of the double header in IPL 2026 will be played between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dharamshala. Last year’s finalists will face each other for the first time in this edition, which is going to be an important match from the playoff point of view. Know how the pitch of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium is going to behave in this match, who will get more advantage here among the batsmen and bowlers.

Today’s match (PBKS vs RCB) to be held at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala is the first afternoon match in this stadium this year. It will be played on the same pitch where the match with Delhi was held. Punjab Kings is in a difficult situation, the team is coming after losing the last 5 matches continuously. In front of them is Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are currently on top of the points table and by winning today, they will become the first team to reach the playoffs.

How will the weather be in Dharamshala today?

Punjab vs Bengaluru match will start at 3:30 pm, the probability of rain at this time is up to 30 percent. However, today the forecast is to remain sunny most of the time, so even if rain disrupts the match, it is unlikely that the match will be completely cancelled. The temperature will remain between 19-20 degrees Celsius during the match.

Also read- KKR stopped GT’s winning streak, the playoff battle became exciting; See what changed in the points table

PBKS vs RCB match pitch report

For the first time in IPL 2026, there is an afternoon match in Dharamshala. The chasing team has won all the 10 matches of the afternoon at the HPCA Stadium, which means today the captain winning the toss will prefer to bowl first and the team batting first will be under pressure. The pitch is suitable for batting.

The pitch of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium will be helpful for the batsmen, a high scoring match can be seen today. There should be no problem in achieving a target of around 200, but if the team batting first scores 230 or more, then there will be more pressure on the chasing team.

Fast bowlers will have an advantage here compared to spinners, in such a situation the role of fast bowlers will be important in the powerplay. At the same time, the batting team should play without taking risks in the first 2-3 overs, even if the runs are less because if the wickets are in hand, it can be covered in the middle overs.

Also read- ‘I don’t think we deserved to win…’, on whom was Shubman Gill angry after GT’s defeat

Live streaming details of PBKS vs RCB match

The Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network channels. There will be live streaming on JioHotstar app and website.

Shreyas Iyer will create history when he comes to Dharamshala for the toss today. He will become the fifth player to play 100 matches as captain in IPL. Before him, great players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni etc. have done this. Today Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore will face each other in Dharamshala.

Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, Punjab Kings made a great start in IPL 2026, the result of which is that despite losing 5 consecutive matches, the team remains in the top-4. But now Punjab will not be able to face another defeat, because then their chances of being out of the playoff race will increase. Royal Challengers Bangalore won their first IPL title by defeating Punjab. After that both the teams will face each other for the first time.

Shreyas Iyer’s 100th match as captain

Shreyas Iyer has captained Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings in a total of 99 matches so far. Under his captaincy, Delhi reached the finals, after which he made KKR the champion under his captaincy and took Punjab to the finals in his very first year. Even in the ongoing season, PBKS was looking brilliant under his captaincy, but in the last 5 matches the picture completely changed.

Also read- Pitch report of PBKS vs RCB match, batsman or bowler, who will get the advantage? Know

The player who has played the most matches in IPL as captain is MS Dhoni, who captained a total of 235 matches for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants. He made CSK champion 5 times under his captaincy.

Rohit Sharma is the second player to captain the most number of matches in IPL, who captained Mumbai Indians in 158 matches and made the team win the title 5 times. At third place in the list is Virat Kohli, who captained Royal Challengers Bangalore in 143 matches. However, he could not win any title for RCB under his captaincy.

Also read- KKR stopped GT’s winning streak, the playoff battle became exciting; See what changed in the points table

Gautam Gambhir also captained in more than 100 matches in IPL. He captained a total of 129 matches for Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. Under his captaincy, KKR won the IPL trophy in 2012 and 2014. Now Shreyas Iyer is going to become the fifth captain to captain in 100 matches.