Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey starred for the Rajasthan Royals as the Punjab Kings finally lost their unbeaten record with a six-wicket loss in their IPL match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Chandigarh on Tuesday evening.
Log leaders Punjab posted an imposing 222-4 after being asked to bat first but Royals openers, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal, smashed 43 and 51 from 16 and 27 balls respectively with a combined 10 fours and six sixes to make the target look impish.
Some impetus was lost in the middle overs but Ferreira belted a shimmering 52* from only 26 balls with six fours and three sixes while Dubey was even more devastating with a stunning 31 from only 12 balls with three fours and two sixes.
Thirty five runs had been required from the final three overs and they were hoovered up with four balls to spare.
A SIX to seal the 6️⃣th win of the season! 👊#RR claim two crucial points, ending #PBKS’ unbeaten streak in New Chandigarh 👏
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2026
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/fBbdVnExPZ#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #PBKSvRR | @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/YpTTgGwOfo
Earlier opener Priyansh Arya gave Punjab a flying start with 29 from just 11 balls and partner Prabhsimran Singh batted until the 14th over for a composed 56 from 44 balls with just six fours and one six – modest by his standards.
Australian left-hander, Cooper Connolly, made a cautious start before bursting into life with three quick sixes to reach 30 from 14 balls to kickstart the innings providing the platform for countryman Marcus Stoinis (62* from 22 balls) to crunch four fours and six sixes in a fine display of power and skill
PROPER CARNAGE! 🔥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2026
🎥 6️⃣, 4️⃣, 4️⃣ and Marcus Stoinis finishes as the highest scorer of the innings 🤯
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/fBbdVnF5Fx#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #PBKSvRR | @punjabkingsipl pic.twitter.com/PvxdPYqyDy
Jofra Archer’s opening burst – 2-0-12-1 – might have been even better but for a dropped catch and two edges which flew to the boundary and his second spell was similarly unfortunate leaving him with an unflattering 4-0-40-1 which did not reflect the quality of his performance.
It is not a bowler's game.
South African left-arm pacer, Nandre Burger, had no excuses for missing lines and lengths – or choosing the wrong ones – as his four overs disappeared for 57 runs but medium pacer Harpreet Brar’s outstanding 4-0-25-0 and veteran wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s 4-0-36-3 kept the Royals in the game.
Punjab retain top position on the log with 13 points from eight matches but the Royals have closed the lead to just one point and sit alongside defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, on 12 points.
Sunrisers Hyderabad are alone in fourth place on 10 points.
𝙁𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙖 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 💥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2026
A brilliant effort in the run chase from the @rajasthanroyals batter to earn the Player of the Match award 🔝👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/fBbdVnExPZ#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #PBKSvRR pic.twitter.com/qSx0QCEGMI
PUNJAB KINGS: Prabhsimran Singh (wkt), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Cooper Connolly, Suryansh Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact subs: Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan
RAJASTHAN ROYALS: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wkt), Riyan Parag (captain), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
Impact subs: Ravi Bishnoi, Ravi Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer