Punjab's unbeaten run ends in Mullanpur as Sooryavanshi, Ferreira and Dubey blast Rajasthan home
Punjab Kings had not lost a game all season. That stopped on Tuesday in Mullanpur.
Rajasthan Royals chased down 223 in 19.2 overs to win by six wickets, with Donovan Ferreira hammering an unbeaten 52 off 26 balls and Shubham Dubey closing the chase on 31 not out from 12. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gave the innings its tone with 43 off 16, Yashasvi Jaiswal added 51 from 27, and Punjab's bowling, including a furious 3 for 36 from Yuzvendra Chahal, was not quite sharp enough to defend a 222 total.
Stoinis muscles Punjab to 222
Marcus Stoinis is the kind of finisher who can flip a 180 score into a 220 score with overs to spare, and on Tuesday he did exactly that. The Australian struck 62 not out from 22 balls, including six sixes, after Prabhsimran Singh had laid the foundation with 59 from 44. Priyansh Arya gave the powerplay a kick with 29 from 11, and Cooper Connolly's 14-ball 30 in the middle overs kept the rate honest. Punjab finished on 222 for 4 on a Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium pitch that, on most nights this season, would have been more than enough.
Sooryavanshi blasts the powerplay, Chahal pulls Punjab back
This was not most nights. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi treated the new ball with the same disregard he has been showing all season, hitting 43 from 16 balls and putting Rajasthan past 60 inside the powerplay. Jaiswal anchored from the other end with a 27-ball 51, and the chase looked like it was running away. Then Yuzvendra Chahal, now in his second season in Punjab colours, twisted things back. He picked up Dhruv Jurel in the 10th over, Jaiswal in the 12th and skipper Riyan Parag in the 14th, finishing with 3 for 36 from his four overs. From cruising at 6 an over above the rate, Rajasthan suddenly needed 70 from the last six.
Ferreira and Dubey shut the door
That should have been Punjab's opening. Instead Ferreira got hold of the death overs and Dubey turned up to swing rather than survey. Ferreira's 52 came off 26, Dubey's unbeaten 31 came in a dozen, and the winning runs were struck with four balls to spare. Punjab stay top of the table on 13 points despite the loss, but the cushion has thinned: Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan now both sit on 12, and only net run rate keeps Shreyas Iyer's side at the summit. Their first defeat of IPL 2026 also lifts Rajasthan up to third, ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad. The chasing pack, finally, is landing punches.
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