Situated at a high altitude, the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium is all set to host a high-stakes rematch of last year’s final. Punjab Kings (PBKS) Take on the reigning champion, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)in match 61 ipl 2026 On Sunday.
The stakes could not be higher for either side. Table-toppers RCB are entering the competition with 16 points from 12 matches, needing only one win to officially secure their place in the IPL 2026 playoffs. on the flip side, Shreyas IyerPunjab Kings find themselves in trouble. After an exceptionally unbeaten performance in their first six matches, PBKS have suffered five consecutive defeats. For them, a win tonight is definitely a must to keep their playoff ambitions intact. However, the biggest talking point before the first ball was the sudden absence of RCB’s regular captain and lynchpin of the middle order, Rajat Patidar.
Why is Rajat Patidar not playing in today’s match against PBKS?
The defending champions suffered a major blow before the match when regular captain Rajat Patidar was ruled out of the crucial encounter due to injury. Patidar, who has been in great form this season with 326 runs at a strike rate of 195, did not accompany the team to Dharamsala and did not attend the team’s pre-match practice session.
Wicketkeeper-batsman in his absence Jitesh Sharma Has stepped up to captain the Bengaluru franchise. Speaking at the toss, stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma shed light on Patidar’s condition and the team’s mentality:
“We would have liked to bowl first, but the wicket is good and we should play well for 40 overs. Rajat has been performing brilliantly and we should see him in Hyderabad. We are in the final stages of the tournament and I am happy with the team’s performance individually and as a unit. Yes, we are very happy that the team looks so stable right now. We are giving our best in every department. A win tonight secures our spot in the playoffs, so it’s a big game for us. Every game is important at this level. This win can turn the whole table – not just for us, but for many other teams as well. Suyash replaces Rajat and Romario replaces Duffy“
On the other side of the coin, it is a historic evening for Punjab Kings captain Iyer, who is taking the field for his 100th IPL match as captain. Winning the toss and deciding to field first, Iyer focused on staying on the field despite the opportunity:
“We are going bowling. I am not going to go into statistics, we are clearly seeing how the game progressed. If we bat and bowl well then the toss does not matter. I seriously didn’t know it was my 100th game as a captain but it feels great. It feels like a great opportunity for me to win my 100th game (as captain). The bowling has been brilliant, but there are pressure moments where you need to perform and so you can’t change the past, nor can you predict the future. The beauty is in being in the moment and seeing the moment and enjoying the pressure. Two changes for us: (Harpreet) Brar and Lockie (Ferguson) came.“
To handle the structural change, RCB brought in a dynamic spinner Suyash Sharma Balancing the bowling department while remaining a dynamic all-rounder Romario Shepherd in place of jacob duffy In the playing team.
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Playing XI and impact options of both the teams
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Jacob Bethel, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper/captain), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar KumarJosh Hazlewood, Suyyash Sharma.
effect option: : Rasikh Salaam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chauhan.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Effect Options: Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Praveen Dubey.
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