DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Venkatesh Iyer was 73 not out off 40 balls and Virat Kohli hit a 37-ball 58 as defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings by 23 runs to advance to the knockout stage of the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Put into bat, Bengaluru scored an impressive 222-4. In reply, Punjab reached 199-8 in 20 overs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar picking up 2-38 in four overs.
Bengaluru confirmed its spot in the top four with a game to spare – it has 18 points from nine wins in 13 games.
For Punjab, it was a sixth straight loss. It is fourth with 13 points from 13 games. The Kings must now win their final game against already eliminated Lucknow Super Giants but will still depend on other results going their way.
In Sunday’s late game, Delhi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets.
Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar bowled opener Jacob Bethell for 11 but Bengaluru went on to score 61-1 in the powerplay.
Kohli hit his fourth half-century of the season off 31 balls. Kohli struck three sixes and four fours overall, putting on 76 runs for the second wicket off 41 balls with Devdutt Padikkal (45), who hit three sixes off 25 balls before he was caught off Brar.
Iyer and Kohli then came together to add 60 off 35, before Kohli was caught off Yuzvendra Chahal in the 15th over.
Bengaluru accelerated despite that loss as Iyer smashed his first 50 of the season, coming off 29 balls. Overall, he hit four sixes and eight fours.
Tim David’s 12-ball 28 included two sixes as Bengaluru eased past 200 with 65 runs off the last five overs.
It was the 53rd 200-plus score in this edition of the IPL, and the most for any season. The previous record was in 2025 with 52 200-plus totals in 74 matches.
In reply, Punjab quickly slipped to 19-3 in 3.2 overs. Kumar struck twice in 11 balls, removing attacking openers Priyansh Arya (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (2).
Rasikh Salam (3-36 in four overs) had skipper Shreyas Iyer caught behind for 1. Punjab only managed 49-3 in the powerplay.
Cooper Connolly (37) and Suryansh Shedge (35) stabilized the innings, and Marcus Stoinis (37) and Shashank Singh put on 67 off 32 deliveries for the sixth wicket.
Josh Hazlewood broke that partnership, trapping Stoinis lbw, after Punjab fought back from 93-5 to 160-6 in 16.1 overs.
Singh (56 off 27) overcame his poor run to score 50 off 22 balls, and Azmatullah Omarzai contributed 14. Both fell in the final over.
Dhruv Jurel (53) and Riyan Parag (51) hit half-centuries in Rajasthan's 193-8 after Delhi won the toss.
Delhi replied with 197-5, winning with four balls to spare. It was Rajasthan’s third straight defeat.
Openers Abishek Porel (51) and Lokesh Rahul (56) led the successful chase with a 105-run opening stand in 10.1 overs, with Axar Patel’s 18-ball 34 not out finishing things off.
Delhi is seventh with 12 points in 13 games. Sixth-place Rajasthan also has 12 points, from 12 games. Both still have a mathematical chance of qualification.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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