Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday did what no other team had managed in IPL 2026, defeating league leaders Punjab Kings by six wickets at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh. The win lifted RR one place up in the standings to third, with 12 points from nine games, marking their sixth victory of the season.Meanwhile, PBKS suffered their first defeat of the campaign after eight matches, but they continue to sit atop the points table with 13 points. Despite the loss in a high-scoring encounter, Punjab retain a strong net run rate (NRR) of +1.043, which keeps them comfortably ahead.RR not only leapfrogged Sunrisers Hyderabad in the standings but also improved their NRR to +0.617, strengthening their position in the top four.SRH, as a result, slipped to fourth place. They have 10 points from eight matches and still boast a healthy NRR of +0.815, keeping them firmly in contention.Royal Challengers Bengaluru continue to hold second place with 12 points — level with RR — but remain ahead due to a superior NRR of +1.919, the best in the competition so far. Their dominant win over Delhi Capitals on Monday significantly boosted their standing.Beyond the top four, the rest of the table remains unchanged following Tuesday’s match. Gujarat Titans occupy fifth place with eight points, followed by Chennai Super Kings with six.Further down, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders (five points), Mumbai Indians (four points), and Lucknow Super Giants (four points) round out the standings.
Latest IPL 2026 Points Table after PBKS vs RR match:
| Position | Team | M | W | L | NR | Points | NRR |
| 1 | PBKS | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | +1.043 |
| 2 | RCB | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | +1.919 |
| 3 | RR | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | +0.617 |
| 4 | SRH | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | +0.815 |
| 5 | GT | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -0.475 |
| 6 | CSK | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -0.121 |
| 7 | DC | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -1.060 |
| 8 | KKR | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | -0.751 |
| 9 | MI | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | -0.735 |
| 10 | LSG | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | -1.106 |
