IPL 2026: PBKS vs RR Highlights, Match 40 - Stats, Player of the Match & More

Rajasthan Royals (RR) finally ended Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) unbeaten run in the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026), with a six-wicket victory in Match 40 on Tuesday, April 28 at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. After being put in to bat first, Punjab once again posted a huge score of 222/4 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, Rajasthan chased down the target in 19.2 overs, courtesy of half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 off 27) and Donovan Ferreira (52*off 26). Earlier in the day, Punjab Kings (PBKS) once again got off to an explosive start as Priyansh Arya (29 off 11) and Prabhsimran Singh (59 off 44) added 37 runs for the first wicket off 17 balls.

After Arya holed out to mid-on against Jofra Archer, Cooper Conolly (30 off 14) joined Prabhsimran at the crease, and the duo added 59 runs for the second wicket off 33 balls.

Prabhsimran brought up his fifty off 35 deliveries but fell prey to Yash Raj Punia shortly after. In the end, a belligerent 20-ball half-century from Marcus Stoinis guided Punjab to a massive score of 222/4 in their 20 overs. In the second innings, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (43 off 16) once again came out all guns blazing to again get Rajasthan off to a blazing start.

Following his dismissal, Yashasvi Jaiswal continued the onslaught with a 26-ball half-century. Things got tricky for Rajasthan after Dhruv Jurel (16 off 20) and Riyan Parag (29 off 16) failed to convert their starts, leaving them on 151/4 in 14 overs, needing 72 runs to win off 36 balls.

However, a massive partnership between Donovan Ferreira and Shubman Dubey (31* off 12) of 77 runs off 32 balls took Rajasthan over the line.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Donovan Ferreira was adjudged Player of the Match for his sensational innings of 52* (26), laced with six fours and three sixes. He stitched a crucial stand with Shubham Dubey to guide Rajasthan over the line.

Turning Point

Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dube got together at the crease as Rajasthan Royals required 72 runs off 36 balls. The duo stitched an unbeaten 77-run stand off 32 balls for the fifth wicket, which eventually became the turning point of the match.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals):

As a team what we discussed before the tournament we achieved in this game. We could have restricted them to little lower but batters picked up the slack. We could have bowled a few overs better here and there, batters a few overs better. But the aspiration to do well for 40 overs. The concerns were from everyone watching, we have trust in players, all the worries are from outside and not from us. The plan was to keep wickets in hand but not fall too far behind the run-rate, the tough part was keeping the momentum, we got behind a little bit but picked it up again. Him (Shubham Dubey) and Don the way they played took away from PBKS, the way they batted was commendable.

Losing Captain, Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings):

(Where did it go wrong?) I thought the 224 on the board was a brilliant score. Kudos to the batsmen, the way they came up and they went against the bowlers. I think it was an exceptional performance, especially on this wicket, which was a bit tacky and slow. And I think we fell a bit short in our bowling, in terms of execution. We had planned to bowl a lot of slower ones, pace off, yorkers. I think we fell a bit short over there. And also, they had tremendous partnership in the middle, especially by Ferreira and Shubham Dubey coming in and scoring those crucial runs at the end. (On the bowling unit which has struggled this season) See, this is the format where I feel that a lot of players have changed their game and when they come in, they go bang from ball one. So it's an arduous task for bowlers to come with a certain plan. But at the end of the day, I feel it's all about execution. If you have a certain plan set, when you execute it well, you come out triumphs. And today just was not it. (What do you say to try and get back to winning ways?) I think it's important that we stick to the things that we've been doing, the routines and the processes that we've been following throughout. We had a match, we had to travel and then come and play another game. So I think the body was also a bit fatigued, but that can't be the reason over here. But we've got a couple of days to refresh, go back to the drawing board and come back strong. (Learnings from this loss) Well, absolutely. I feel that this is the first loss of the season, so it definitely teaches you a lot. And also, we've played a lot of games where we have chased 200 plus, we have defended 200 plus. So this is just one of those games where things didn't go our way and we just have to push it aside. And I feel that in retrospect, many things could have happened, but I just want to stay positive going ahead and be optimistic in our approach. (On Harpreet Brar) Yes, absolutely. I feel that it was difficult to score off the spinners because it was holding a bit and it was offering them a little bit of turn as well. Not that much, but a little bit. But Harpreet Brar, yes, coming in his first game, showing that kind of personality where he just gives 25 runs off four overs and turning out to be the best bowler in the team. I think hats off to him, the way he kept his approach and his attitude throughout this game. (New venue - Dharamsala, what does that do?) Nothing, just win.