Punjab Kings lit up the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on April 28 in IPL 2026’s 40th match, posting a mammoth 222 for 4 after being sent in to bat by Rajasthan Royals. This electrifying performance sets the stage for a blockbuster chase.
Prabhsimran Singh continued his red-hot form, smashing 59 runs off 44 balls with six fours and a towering six. He built on an explosive start alongside Priyansh Arya, who scored 29 off 11 in a 37-run powerplay burst. Cooper Connolly’s 30 off 14 added more muscle early on.
Shreyas Iyer, the PBKS skipper, played a supporting role with 30 off 27, blending caution with aggression via a boundary and a six. But it was Marcus Stoinis who stole the show in the death overs, remaining not out on 62 from 22 balls. His innings was a spectacle of power-hitting: four fours and six sixes, including a brutal 24-run assault on Brijesh Sharma in the last over.
Stoinis and Suryansh Shedge (3 not out) forged a quickfire 41-run partnership off just 12 balls, pushing PBKS past 200 with ease. Yashraj Punja was RR’s standout bowler with 2/41, while Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger grabbed one scalp apiece.
Riyan Parag’s Rajasthan Royals feature a star-studded XI: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Archer, Burger, Brijesh Sharma, and Punja. PBKS countered with Prabhsimran (wk), Arya, Connolly, Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Stoinis, Jansen, Ferguson, Arshdeep, and Chahal under Iyer’s leadership.
As RR gear up for the chase, PBKS’s total looks defendable, thanks to Stoinis’s late surge and Prabhsimran’s solidity. Fans are in for a run feast.
