<p>In a must-win encounter, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl against <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/rcb">Royal Challengers Bengaluru </a>at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. </p><p>The hosts made two changes to their playing 11, bringing in pacer Lockie Ferguson and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar. </p><p>"We're going to bowl. I'm not going by the stats, we're clearly seeing how the games pan out. If we bat and bowl well, the toss doesn't matter. I seriously had no clue that this was my 100th game as a captain but it feels great. It feels like a great opportunity for me to win my 100th game (as captain). The bowling has been fantastic, but there are pressure moments where you need to execute and so you can't change the past, nor you can't anticipate the future. The beauty is to stay in the moment and see the moment and enjoy the pressure. Two changes for us (Harpreet) Brar and Lockie (Ferguson) come in," Iyer said at the toss. </p>.IPL 2026 | PBKS vs RCB Highlights: Royal Challengers seal Playoffs spot with 23-run win over PBKS .<p>Meanwhile, RCB missed their captain Rajat Patidar will miss the match due to fitness issues. Jitesh Sharma leads the table-toppers in his absence. </p><p>"We would have loved to bowl first, but the wicket is good and should play well for 40 overs. Rajat is doing fantastic and we should see him in Hyderabad. We are at the business end of the tournament, and I’m happy with how the team is performing, both individually and as an unit. Yes, we are very pleased that the team looks so stable right now. We are giving our absolute best in every department. One win tonight secures our spot in the playoffs, so it’s a massive game for us. Every game is important at this stage. This win can change the entire table - not just for us, but for several other teams as well. Suyash replaces Rajat and Romario replaces Duffy," Sharma said at the toss. </p><p>RCB playing 11: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma</p><p>RCB Impact Sub options: Rasikh Salam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan</p><p>PBKS playing 11: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal</p><p>PBKS Impact Sub options: Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Praveen Dubey</p>
<p>In a must-win encounter, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl against <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/rcb">Royal Challengers Bengaluru </a>at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. </p><p>The hosts made two changes to their playing 11, bringing in pacer Lockie Ferguson and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar. </p><p>"We're going to bowl. I'm not going by the stats, we're clearly seeing how the games pan out. If we bat and bowl well, the toss doesn't matter. I seriously had no clue that this was my 100th game as a captain but it feels great. It feels like a great opportunity for me to win my 100th game (as captain). The bowling has been fantastic, but there are pressure moments where you need to execute and so you can't change the past, nor you can't anticipate the future. The beauty is to stay in the moment and see the moment and enjoy the pressure. Two changes for us (Harpreet) Brar and Lockie (Ferguson) come in," Iyer said at the toss. </p>.IPL 2026 | PBKS vs RCB Highlights: Royal Challengers seal Playoffs spot with 23-run win over PBKS .<p>Meanwhile, RCB missed their captain Rajat Patidar will miss the match due to fitness issues. Jitesh Sharma leads the table-toppers in his absence. </p><p>"We would have loved to bowl first, but the wicket is good and should play well for 40 overs. Rajat is doing fantastic and we should see him in Hyderabad. We are at the business end of the tournament, and I’m happy with how the team is performing, both individually and as an unit. Yes, we are very pleased that the team looks so stable right now. We are giving our absolute best in every department. One win tonight secures our spot in the playoffs, so it’s a massive game for us. Every game is important at this stage. This win can change the entire table - not just for us, but for several other teams as well. Suyash replaces Rajat and Romario replaces Duffy," Sharma said at the toss. </p><p>RCB playing 11: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma</p><p>RCB Impact Sub options: Rasikh Salam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan</p><p>PBKS playing 11: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal</p><p>PBKS Impact Sub options: Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Praveen Dubey</p>
