Are PBKS’ hopes of a maiden IPL title over after 8-wicket defeat against RCB in Qualifier 1?

After securing a top-two finish on the final day of the league phase, Royal Challengers Bengaluru delivered their most ruthless performance so far in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), thrashing Punjab Kings by 8 wickets to storm into the final.

Suyash Sharma and the returning Josh Hazlewood headlined a clinical bowling performance after RCB captain Rajat Patidar opted to field in Qualifier 1, the first match of the IPL playoffs, at the New PCA Stadium. Suyash (3/17) and Hazlewood (3/21) collected three wickets each while Yash  Dayal (2/26) helped himself to a couple of wickets as RCB bundled PBKS out for a paltry 101 in a little over 14 overs.

Opener Phil Salt then took charge during the chase after Virat Kohli’s (12) dismissal briefly reignited Punjab’s hopes of winning a low-scoring thriller, with the Englishman smashing six fours and three sixes and remained unbeaten on 56 off 27 deliveries to ensure the Royal Challengers chased the 102-run target down with 8 wickets and half of their overs to spare.

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RCB certainly have underlined their credentials as a title contender with their latest performance and will be brimming with confidence during the final, which takes place on 3 June in Ahmedabad. The Royal Challengers will be competing in their fourth final on Tuesday and after being left heartbroken in each of their previous appearances in the summit clash, will be hoping to end a 17-year wait for a maiden title.

PBKS not out of the competition despite heavy loss against RCB

PBKS, meanwhile, aren’t out of the competition yet despite their lopsided defeat at their home ground, where they had suffered a seven-wicket loss against the same team last month.

While the IPL had semi-finals in its first three editions, which were direct shootouts wherein the winning teams advanced to the final and the losing teams went home. And unlike multi-nation tournaments in other sports such as football, hockey, etc. there were no third-place playoffs between 2008 and 2010.

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The IPL Governing Council decided to revamp the business end of the season by introducing playoffs in place of semi-finals, wherein the teams finishing among the top two at the end of the league phase competed in Qualifier 1 while those finished third and fourth faced off in the Eliminator. While the winner of Qualifier 1 advances directly into the semi-final, the loser awaits the winner of the Eliminator in Qualifier 2 to decide the other finalist.

Fallen, not finished! 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/R5mkALa5wH

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 29, 2025

Thus, Qualifier 1 is the only game out of the four playoff fixtures that is not a knockout clash.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side had finished on top of the table at the end of the league stage after qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, earning two shots at reaching the final in the process.

And after getting outplayed by Rajat Patidar’s men in Mullanpur on Thursday, they will be hoping for a much better performance in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Sunday, where they await the winner of Friday’s Eliminator between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians – the teams that had finished third and fourth respectively on the IPL points table.