Indian Premier League: Punjab Kings to Bonuce Back Against Gujarat Titans
PBKS look to put defeat to Rajasthan Royals behind them
Up to Match 40 of the 2026 Indian Premier League, the Punjab Kings had established themselves as the team to catch, having gone unbeaten in their first seven games of the tournament, winning six, while their fixture against KKR ended in a no-result.
However, the Kings were brought crashing back to earth last Tuesday, when they ran into the Rajasthan Royals, who handed them their first defeat of the competition, successfully chasing down 222/4 at the PCA New Stadium to confirm our IPL predictions.
The Punjab side struggled to cope with the early onslaught of the Royals’ devastating top order spearheaded by Yashasvi Jaiswal and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, as the Royals got to their target with six wickets and four balls to spare.
Marcus Soinis was the standout performer for the Kings, scoring 62* of just 26 deliveries, while Prabhsimran Singh, who has been the team’s most reliable batter, added 59 (44), and both will be key to helping the team secure their spot in the Playoffs across the remainder of the season.
One area the Kings will need to improve from the last match is their bowling, where only Yuzvendra Chahal managed to take more than one scalp, while the likes of Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen and Harpreet Brar all ended wicketless.
On the positive, though, the Kings will gain major confidence from their record against the Gujarat Titans. They have already defeated GT once this season by three wickets back in March, and have only lost one of their last four matches against the Gujarat franchise since 2024.
IPL 2026: League Standings After 45 Matches
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punjab Kings | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1.043 |
| 2 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 1.420 |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0.832 |
| 4 | Rajasthan Royals | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0.510 |
| 5 | Gujarat Titans | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | −0.192 |
| 6 | Delhi Capitals | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 | −0.895 |
| 7 | Chennai Super Kings | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | −0.121 |
| 8 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | −0.751 |
| 9 | Mumbai Indians | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | −0.784 |
| 10 | Lucknow Super Giants | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | −1.106 |
