"We have a glorious day game here in the breathtaking hills of Dharamshala. Despite a touch of overnight rain, the curators have done a stellar job; it's had no impact on the preparation of this surface—the same one used for the Delhi game earlier this week. Now, we are slightly off-center on the square today, so there’s a bit of a boundary bias to my left and right, but 'downtown' remains a solid hit at just over 70 meters. The curator deserves a mountain of credit," said Danny Morrison.

Rajat Patidar has been one of RCB’s standout performers this season, amassing 326 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 195, including hitting three half-centuries. But his absence for the clash against Punjab Kings leaves a significant void in RCB’s middle order and it will be interesting to see who replaces him in the starting eleven.

“Rajat Patidar won’t be playing today. Jitesh will be the captain of RCB for this clash. Patidar wasn’t seen in RCB travel videos to Dharamshala and missed both practice sessions. He will be back for RCB’s last game in Hyderabad,” a source told IANS.

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be without their regular skipper Rajat Patidar for their IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium, with wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma set to lead the side in his absence, confirmed news agency IANS. 

“We have played well in the tournament and I think everyone came in the different stage and doing [well] for the team. I think that's a great sign. And being at the top of the table, it's always a good thing. Good for the team. And as I said, we are taking just one game at a time, one step at a time,” said captain Rajat Patidar.

Arshdeep Singh, who has been showing glimpses of his brilliance with his swing and yorker execution, has found form in the past four games, but he has to be careful for his plans against Virat Kohli, who has plundered 101 runs in 58 balls against the left-armer at a strike rate of 174.13, dismissed only twice in 11 innings. The veteran batter has hit Arshdeep for 16 fours and a six.

Virat Kohli has a fine record against PBKS, having made 1,159 runs in 36 matches and innings at an average of 36.21 and a strike rate of over 132, with a century and six fifties. This is the most runs a batter has scored against an opponent in IPL history. The last time RCB visited Dharamshala in the 2024 season, Virat unleashed a 47-ball 92, with seven fours and six sixes.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are playing like a well oiled machine. Kohli, at 37 years of age, continues to redefine consistency, having smashed a 60-ball 105 against KKR in Raipur. Their pace department including Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood will enjoy bowling on the Dharamsala given the conditions.

PBKS need to rejig its bowling combination with the likes of Xavier Bartlett and Marco Jansen proving expensive throughout the tournament. Arshdeep Singh has managed to bring his economy rate under 10 with his frugal returns in the last game while Azmatullah Omarzai made instant impact with bat and ball in his first game of the season. Vijaykumar Vyshak has been out of the side and perhaps the team goes back to him in search of much needed control in the middle and death overs.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Virat Kohli is on the cusp of a huge feat. He just needs seven runs more to complete hi 5,500 runs in the IPL. He will the join Shikhar Dhawan (6362) and David Warner (5910) in the list of batters with 5,500 runs in the history of IPL. 

While RCB are sitting comfortable on the points table, a sixth loss for Punjab Kings would effectively shut the playoff door on the Shreyas Iyer-led side. In both the games played here, Punjab Kings failed to defend 210 and 200 after failing to control the last five overs. In fact, they have lost the most the numbers of games (10) after posting 200 plus total in the format’s history.

Defending champions, the only team which has maintained consistency throughout the tournament, are clear favourites against Punjab Kings, who are in a freefall having lost five games in a row after being the most dominant team in the first half of the tournament.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru would look to exploit vulnerabilities of a profligate Punjab Kings bowling line up to seal a play-off berth.  In the only day game scheduled at the scenic Dharamsala stadium, the top draw without an iota doubt is Virat Kohli, fresh off a hundred in the previous game.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the IPL 2026 match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, straight from the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala. Stay tuned for the live updates.