WATCH: Venkatesh Iyer’s fires back against Punjab Kings’ bowling attack

RCB vs PBKS IPL 2026: The match no. 61 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, is being played between Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Jitesh Sharma’s Royal Challenges Bengaluru (RCB) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala. This game is going to be important for both teams as it will decide the future of two teams in the tournament.

If Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wins this match, Punjab Kings will be eliminated from this tournament. Meanwhile, if Punjab Kings win this match, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Chennai Super Kings will be done and dusted from this tournament. So it will be interesting to see this highly-intense match.

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings IPL 2026 match no. 61 playing XI

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

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Punjab Kings had won the toss and decided to bowl first. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) got a chance to bat first in this important match. Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli came out of the pavilion to begin the innings. Meanwhile, Bethell, who was struggling this season, failed to score runs one more time as star spinner Harpreet Brar dismissed him for 11 runs off 7 balls.

Meanwhile, his partner (Virat Kohli) took the charge in his hands and started smashing excellent boundaries for the team. Kohli’s innings ended up on a score of 58 runs off 37 balls, including four fours and three sixes. After Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal gave a major setback to Punjab Kings as he continued his impressive form in the tournament and smashed 45 runs off 25 balls.

After their impressive performance, Venkatesh Iyer showcased his showdown against Punjab Kings and broke their bowlers’ confidence by a brilliant batting performance and crucial knock in the important match. Venkatesh Iyer scored 73 runs unbeaten off 40 balls. In his knock, Iyer smashed eight fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 182. RCB batters helped their side to post 222 runs on the board for the loss of four wickets.

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