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IPL 2026: Shashank Singh's blitz against RCB goes in vain
17 May 2026

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) reached the IPL 2026 playoffs after handing Punjab Kings (PBKS) their sixth successive defeat.

Their win was marked by a stellar opening spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who stunned PBKS' top order. Chasing 223, the Kings slumped to 19/3 before recovering.

Although Shashank Singh's blazing half-century kept PBKS alive till the end, they fell 23 runs short.

How the chase started
Start

PBKS was rocked early by Bhuvneshwar's brilliance. He removed both openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, in successive overs.

And Rasikh Salam Dar dismissed skipper Shreyas Iyer, reducing PBKS to 19/3.

Cooper Connolly then steadied the ship with his 22-ball 37. Suryansh Shedge also joined him, taking the Kings past 60.

In the eighth over, Romario Shepherd broke the partnership by dismissing Connolly.

PBKS lose despite Shashank's blitz
Finish

Suryansh Shedge took PBKS toward 100, but Suyash Sharma cut short his knock.

Marcus Stoinis's presence and a whirlwind knock from Shashank kept PBKS' hopes alive. However, RCB brought back Hazlewood, who dismissed Stoinis.

Shashank's 22-ball half-century powered the Kings, but PBKS couldn't score 33 runs in the final over.

He slammed a 27-ball 56 (4 fours and 4 sixes).

A look at his numbers
Numbers

Shashank finally ended his run drought by scoring his maiden half-century of IPL 2026. Overall, it was his sixth IPL fifty.

The PBKS batter now has 905 runs from 52 IPL games at an average of 36.20. His strike rate goes past 160 (161.60).

In 109 T20s, Shashank has 1,763 runs with a strike rate of 146.67. He owns 11 half-centuries.