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Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are face to face in match number-61 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. In the afternoon match being played at HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala, PBKS won the toss and invited RCB to bat first. RCB’s regular captain Rajat Patidar is not playing in this match. In his place, wicketkeeper batsman Jitesh Sharma is commanding the team.

Patidar suffered a head injury in the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), due to which he is out as a precautionary measure. Jitesh said during the toss that he is expected to be available for the last league stage match in Hyderabad. Suyyash Sharma has come in place of Rajat. Romario Shepherd has replaced Jacob Duffy. Rasikh Salam Dar can enter as an impact player.

Do or die battle for PBKS

PBKS, captained by Shreyas Iyer, has faced defeat in the last 5 matches. Now it needs to win at any cost to survive in the playoff race. If it loses today then the doors to the playoffs will be almost closed for it.

PBKS have ousted Marco Jansson in a do-or-die match. Harpreet Brar and Lockie Ferguson have returned to the team. Marcus Stoinis is in the impact player list. He or Vishnu Vinod can come out to bat during Punjab Kings’ run chase. Vishnu Vinod played a useful innings in the last match against Mumbai Indians.

Playing XI of both the teams:

Punjab Kings – Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Impact Player Options – Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Praveen Dubey

Royal Challengers Bangalore – Jacob Bethel, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (captain and wicketkeeper), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood.

Impact Player Options – Rasikh Salaam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chauhan