RCB on brink of playoffs, PBKS desperate to avoid wooden spoon

Points: 16 points from 12 games, 1st on table. NRR: +1.053 – best in tournament. Form: Beat KKR last game. 8 wins, 4 losses. Equation: Win vs PBKS = 18 points, officially confirms playoff berth. Also puts them in strong contention for top-2 finish. If they lose: Still in strong position due to NRR. Beat SRH in last game to reach 18, or qualify on 16 with other results. Key players: Virat Kohli fresh off record 9th IPL century, averaging 114 in chases this season. Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading pace attack. The first-ten-balls strike rate of their top seven in their six wins was a whopping 236.20, but in the last five matches, it has reduced to 191. This is still a good number. Other teams will be happy with their new batters scoring 19 off ten. The real problem is what's happening to PBKS when their batters are set. Their top seven struck at 251.80 during balls 21 to 30 in their six wins. That figure has fallen off a cliff to 132.60 in the five losses. Points: 13 points from 12 games, 4th on table. Form: Lost 5 matches in a row. Dramatic collapse in second half. Equation: Must-win clash. Loss likely ends playoff hopes. Win both remaining games = 17 points, almost guarantees playoffs. Problems:Death bowling worst in IPL 2026 – highest economy, worst average, most boundaries Failed to defend 200+ twice at Dharamsala. Shreyas Iyer avg 70 in chases, but only 30 batting first. Struggles vs Hazlewood: 4 dismissals in 6 innings, avg 2.75. Key players*: Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma carrying batting. Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai with ball. Barring his unbeaten 59 against DC earlier this week, Shreyas Iyer's form had dipped in the second half of the IPL. His other scores this month read 4, 5, 19, and 30. Sunday will pit him against two bowlers who have had the better of him previously in the IPL. Against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Iyer has a strike rate of 90 while getting out three times in 11 innings. Against Hazlewood, he has four dismissals in six innings and 11 runs off 22 balls. With the ground slipping from underneath PBKS game after game, they will hope their leader helps them find their feet. Bottom line: Defending champions RCB need one win from two games to lock playoffs and are favorites vs a PBKS side in freefall. For Punjab, it’s do-or-die – win to stay in contention, lose and their dramatic second-half collapse likely ends their season. Dharamsala will be hosting its first day game of IPL 2026. And given all ten day games prior to this one have been won by the chasing side, there is a chance the toss will have a role to play in the result. Sunday is expected to be pleasant with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees Celsius. The same pitch as the match against DC will be used for this game. Iyer will be captaining his 100th match in the IPL, with 41 of those coming for DC, and 29 each for KKR and PBKS. He has the joint-best win percentage as a captain in the IPL (min. 60 matches), level with MS Dhoni at 58.3%