Dharamshala, May 17 -- Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer admitted that PBKS lost the match during the powerplay after suffering early blows in their chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

The PBKS skipper credited RCB for their explosive batting display and praised the bowling efforts of Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for tightening the game despite Punjab maintaining a strong scoring rate.

While disappointed with the defeat, Iyer lauded the fighting contributions from Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis, and stressed that he remains optimistic and focused on moving forward rather than dwelling on the loss.

RCB became the first team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 to qualify for the playoffs after defeating...