Rajasthan Royals hand Punjab Kings their first defeat in IPL 2026. (Reuters Photo)

Mission possible. Rajasthan Royals hand Punjab Kings first defeat in IPL 2026

Rajasthan Royals became the first team in the Indian Premier League's 2026 edition to beat Punjab Kings. Finishers Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey put together an epic fightback to pull off a clinical chase in Mullanpur.

28 Apr 2026, 18:16 by Kingshuk Kusari · India Today

In Short

Punjab Kings suffered their first loss in the IPL 2026
Rajasthan Royals beat Punjab by 6 wickets
Donovan Ferriera and Shubham Dubey announced themselves in the IPL

Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals (228/4) beat Punjab Kings (222/4) by 6 wickets at Mullanpur Stadium in Chandigarh.

Stop the count. Punjab Kings have been beaten in the Indian Premier League! Playing at home, Punjab Kings had a terrible day out with the ball against Rajasthan Royals, which ended in them losing by 6 wickets at the Mullanpur Stadium on Tuesday.

Rajasthan finishers Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey played their most impactful knocks in the IPL so far, adding 77 runs in a tricky chase of 223 runs. They survived tough middle overs, dug into their crease, and then smashed the fast bowlers in the death overs, handing Rajasthan a clinical win.

It is very important that we reiterate the clinical bit here. Because last season, one of Rajasthan's biggest downfalls was their lack of finishing. They would remain ahead of the game for the majority of the time, only to lose it in the final two overs.

On Tuesday, it looked like the story would follow the same path. After bowling well through the middle overs, Rajasthan threw it away in the death. Jofra Archer and Brijesh Sharma lost the plot in the final two overs, conceding 43 runs in total. Marcus Stoinis raced to 62 off just 22 balls, taking Punjab to a big total of 222 runs.

Giving away momentum against Punjab Kings has not turned out well for any team in this IPL. The Shreyas Iyer side has latched on to even the slightest of chances and has punished the opposition this season.

But that baggage did not play on the minds of Rajasthan today, as they got out of the blocks in a sensational manner, racing to 84 runs in the powerplay. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who keeps getting better every day, raced to 43 off just 16 balls before miscuing a full toss to Shreyas Iyer at mid-off.

Rajasthan lost steam after the powerplay as spinners Harpreet Brar and Yuzvendra Chahal slowed the game down.

Between the 6th and the 14th over, Chahal took three key wickets of Jaiswal (51 off 27), Dhruv Jurel (16 off 20), and Riyan Parag (29 off 16), all off miscued shots, handing control to Punjab in the game.

And once again, it looked like Rajasthan were going to throw it all away, despite setting the platform well.

But South Africa's Donovan Ferreira and Impact Sub Shubham Dubey banded together to form an important fifth-wicket partnership, taking the team over the line in Mullanpur on Tuesday.

IPL 2026, PBKS vs RR Highlights | Scorecard

Ferreira, who was let go by Delhi Capitals ahead of the season, has been showing signs of a breakthrough year this season. His arsenal of shots was visible today, when he not only dug his claws in to survive the middle overs, but then had the mentality and the physical ability to launch sixes off deliveries that were meant to get him trapped on the boundary line.

Ferreira's 52* off 26 was well supported by Shubham Dubey, who has been in the IPL circuit for a few years, but has not quite lit it up yet. But against Punjab, Dubey was able to guide yorker-length balls to the boundary and hit two powerful sixes, remaining unbeaten on 31 off just 12 balls.

The duo added 77 off just 32, finishing the job in 19.2 overs, guiding Rajasthan to a strong win against Punjab.

With the win, Rajasthan climbed to the third spot in the league table, with 9 points from 12 games.

Punjab, despite the loss, continue to be at the top of the table, with 13 points from 8 games.

FIERY JOFRA CRACKS PUNJAB'S OPENING PARTNERSHIP

Earlier in the game, Punjab Kings played out a stop-start innings after being sent in to bat first. On a slightly two-paced wicket, Punjab's openers were caught in a storm called Jofra Archer, who once again showed that he is at the very top of his game in IPL 2026.

Jofra has been sensational in the powerplay this year, intimidating batters and dismissing them at will. The story was similar today, as neither Prabhsimran Singh nor Priyansh Arya had any clue about how the ball was coming at them and were not able to provide their usual flamboyant start.

The opening duo was extremely lucky to survive multiple edges in the powerplay, till Priyansh eventually lost his wicket in the third over. Riyan Parag had an absolute brainfade in that phase of play as he refused to provide Jofra with a slip catcher.

As the edges flew, Jofra got angrier and kept increasing his pace, till he hit the 150-mark, with a ball that dismissed Priyansh.

However, the wicket did little to dent Punjab's momentum as No. 3 Cooper Connolly (30 off 14) played another impressive innings, making sure that the team did not lose momentum.

Rajasthan Royals' latest young sensation, Yash Raj Punja, was key in dismissing the Australian, which brought a much-needed momentum change for the visitors. Once Connolly was out, Ravindra Jadeja and Punja slowed the game down and handed the momentum back to the team.

The domination in the middle overs meant that Punjab's run rate fell from 12 to 10, arresting the team's momentum going into the final three overs.

But Punjab were able to dig themselves out of trouble, like they do the majority of the time, courtesy of Marcus Stoinis' rapid 62* off just 22 balls.

However, unlike last season when Rajasthan often stumbled at the final hurdle, they held their nerve this time. After surviving Punjab’s late assault with the bat, they responded with maturity in the chase, trusted their finishers, and closed out the game without panic.

It was the kind of win that Rajasthan had often let slip in the past, but on Tuesday, they were calm, clinical, and convincing. The result not only handed Punjab their first stumble of the season, but also pushed Rajasthan into the top three, a timely reminder that they should not be counted out this season.

- Ends