Dharamsala
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium
211
52
12
RCB
RCB
222/4 (20.0)
PBKS chose to BOWL
PBKS
PBKS
199/8 (20.0)
RCB won by 23 runs
PBKS vs RCB IPL 2026 Match Preview: Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI & Pitch Report

Published on May 16, 2026

PBKS vs RCB IPL 2026 Match Preview: Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI & Pitch Report

The Indian Premier League action heads to the scenic mountains as a desperate Punjab Kings take on a high flying Royal Challengers Bengaluru. If you are looking for the perfect Dream11 Prediction and a Fantasy Winning Team, this match offers incredible opportunities for your fantasy contests.

PBKS have suffered five consecutive defeats and are desperate to bounce back and salvage their pride. On the other hand, RCB are riding high on momentum and have almost reached the next stage of the IPL. Expect a thrilling T20 clash as one team fights for survival while the other looks to cement their dominance.

Match Details

  • Match: Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
  • Date: 17 May 2026
  • Time: 15:30 IST
  • Venue: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala

Live Streaming & Broadcast Details

  • Catch the live action on JioHotstar(App + Website)
  • Television broadcast available on Star Sport Channels

Weather Report

Since this is an afternoon game in Dharamsala, the weather will be pleasant with temperatures hovering around 28 degrees Celsius. The Dew factor will have zero impact on the game, making it an even contest for both innings. There is a very low Rain impact expected, ensuring a full uninterrupted match.

Pitch Report & Venue Stats

The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium offers a fantastic batting surface. The Average score here in the last five matches is a massive 211 runs, indicating a true batting paradise. Looking at the Pace vs spin dominance, fast bowlers have taken 52 wickets compared to just 12 wickets for spinners.

Fantasy Takeaway: Load your Mega Leagues teams with top order aggressive batters and hit the-deck fast bowlers who bowl in the death overs.

Team Form & Head to-Head

Punjab Kings

  • Last 5 matches: L L L L L
  • PBKS are on a disastrous five match losing streak and urgently need a win to regain confidence.
  • Head to-head wins against RCB: 3

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

  • Last 5 matches: W W L L W
  • RCB are in stellar form, winning crucial games and sitting comfortably near playoff qualification.
  • Head to-head wins against PBKS: 7

Injury Updates & Player Availability

  • Yash Dayal is Unavailable for this fixture.
  • The rest of the core players from both squads are Fully fit and ready for selection.
  • There are no Doubtful players reported in the main camps.

Probable Playing XI

Punjab Kings

Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam, Jacob Duffy

Key Players to Watch

  • Virat Kohli: He is having a phenomenal season with 484 runs. His anchor role makes him a must have for any fantasy lineup.
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar: With an incredible 22 wickets this season, he is lethal with the new ball and highly effective in the death overs.
  • Cooper Connolly: The standout performer for his team with 436 runs. He loves the ball coming onto the bat.
  • Prabhsimran Singh: An aggressive opener with 439 runs under his belt. He can maximize the powerplay restrictions on this flat deck.
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Fantasy Picks

Small League Safe Picks

  • Virat Kohli
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar
  • Cooper Connolly

Mega League Differential Picks

  • Azmatullah Omarzai: A fantastic all round option who bowls crucial overs and can hit big. Low selection makes him a great differential.
  • Marco Jansen: His left arm pace can exploit the bouncy conditions in Dharamsala, offering high reward potential for your leaderboard climb.

Match Prediction / Outlook

Given the current form and team balance, RCB are the clear favorites to win this encounter and secure their spot in the next stage. However, a wounded PBKS playing with nothing to lose could spring a surprise. Final verdict: RCB to win.

Disclaimer

Always check the Final Playing XI and Toss updates before locking your fantasy team. AI11 provides data driven strategy only to help you build your skills.

IPL 2026 RCB vs PBKS players T20 past performance, current series performance, projected points and selection percentage.

PlayerBattingBowlingSeries PerformanceLineup selectionMatch Performance
Name
T
R
S
M#BatInnNORunsHSAvgSR50+4/6BowlInnWkOvAvgEcoSR4wBestC/St
M
A. Pt
Pts
Run
Wk
DT
P
S%
C
VC
iDt
#
PTS
Bat
Bowl
Field
Praveen DubeyPBKSBOWL33RHB2492303815.33107.98024LBG32332.8207.2616.514/1918000000160.290.010.01410000
Rasikh SalamRCBBOWL52RHB20981107.3610009RM52643.424.358.7516.626/3110848.93913962.51212.220.240.41411001060
Azmatullah OmarzaiPBKSALL174RHB1393421706220.66136.223255RMF1631683.125.198.417.964/9431152152382100763.933.795.1814382680
Venkatesh IyerRCBBAT150LHB13337340710435.48140.4921456RM76552.425.297.7619.516/2056327.78341033.3417.731.061.36114713500
Shreyas IyerPBKSBAT253RHB24644697514734.52137.8751887OB,LBG511.6819.914901/281091175.1826396045.5382.5311.4512.791913108
Suyash SharmaRCBBOWL64RHB327677000LBG64653.628.247.9321.325/13710333300720108.320.150.2818310270
Marcus StoinisPBKSALL376RHB33382750314729.89138.6641953RM2412042.526.389.117.354/15921047.147117924066.210.240.3210675900
Krunal PandyaRCBALL242LHB1895731998624.23130.9910382SLA2291763.230.847.4524.834/15871258.26981411066.7864.641.813.56235010
Devdutt PadikkalRCBBAT129LHB12812379512432.71139.1628551OB000-661270.9851367058.3376.256.588.6951018508
Tim DavidRCBBAT330RHB29588641910231163.5824864OB62151.865.468.9643.801/01821242.8513234033.3632.631.411.949705408
Vishnu VinodPBKSWK73RHB6814177210932.81142.2110241201.67.570-37129291500143.180.140.14320000
Romario ShepherdRCBALL245RHB1787226287324.79155.417361RFM2202192.926.789.3317.235/20521137.341083627.3714.620.430.7213440328
Shashank SinghPBKSBAT109RHB932417636825.55146.6711219RM,OB35242.329.258.6620.203/435930.927876333.368.50.30.44311410200
Jitesh SharmaRCBWK172RHB15229325310626.44152.721345910150-1481225.530690016.7531.741.091.522012008
Arshdeep SinghPBKSBOWL207LHB4927162237.36101.25021LMF2052703.623.48.6616.275/3247115156111345.51047.880.931.5615360320
Prabhsimran SinghPBKSWK128RHB12612359611931.54151.0928554000-661183.9923439072.7190.5811.7512.03226200
Harpreet BrarPBKSBOWL107LHB51264322917.28129.72054SLA1041043.223.917.4619.244/183011414000810.610.30.546979768
Swapnil SinghRCBALL96RHB772810805222.04127.352119SLA90833.124.617.352016/19340000001516.670.820.96250000
Lockie FergusonPBKSBOWL211RHB60332983011.03111.61031RF2072463.522.917.8217.595/215722346010917.820.510.782420-20
Virat KohliRCBBAT428RHB411771410012242.21135.621191725RM4581.783.378.757.502/251931283.31000484075288.727.3613.28212496016
Yuzvendra ChahalPBKSBOWL342RHB452781104.553.2801LBG3363943.623.927.7918.4146/25771135.33880927.31129.190.61.0716320280
Bhuvneshwar KumarRCBBOWL330RHB115625632710.6295.42054RM3293593.624.537.3819.9115/4671280.7968342258.3981.653.735.078740700
Josh HazlewoodRCBBOWL138LHB2620711311.8384.5207RFM1371823.822.187.781774/122595751301155.61160.391.362.6212520480
Jacob BethellRCBBAT104LHB9715193910523.64141.0110256SLA31221.922.778.3916.214/1155632.319484033.3143.816.365.5517311908
Jordan CoxRCBWK178RHB16533404513930.64140.1522502000-127000000130.850.10.06330000
Xavier BartlettPBKSBOWL112RHB61265665916.17126.9169RFM1101333.425.18.8816.944/1058834.12732930138.930.170.34440000
Cooper ConnollyPBKSALL65LHB5712134310729.84141.817172SLA37302.624.137.4619.403/23271183.8922436072.7484.68.229.357797100
Priyansh AryaPBKSBAT58LHB581168310329.52176.9711270OB11122601/2171171.8790364072.7273.9110.929.682110-208
Musheer KhanPBKSALL1RHB10000000SLA1122713.51201/270000000150.320.010.01280000
Suryansh ShedgePBKSALL29RHB2283475724.78180.72145RMF18132.229.9210.0117.903/4614552.4262114040516.020.450.7411675900
Abhinandan SinghRCBBOWL3RHB00000RMF333.240.6612.6219.302/302340.31210333.3143.330.170.28480000
Kanishk ChouhanRCBALLRHB00OB000000000160.30.010.01300000
Completed matches of Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Teams
Date
Venue
Bat First
Bat Second
Inning 1
Inning 2
Winner
28 Mar - 07:30 PMBengaluruSunrisers HyderabadSRHRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB201/9 (20.0)203/4 (15.4) RCB won by 6 wickets (with 26 balls remaining)
05 Apr - 07:30 PMBengaluruRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBChennai Super KingsCSK250/3 (20.0)207/10 (19.4) RCB won by 43 runs
10 Apr - 07:30 PMGuwahatiRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBRajasthan RoyalsRR201/8 (20.0)202/4 (18.0) RR won by 6 wickets (with 12 balls remaining)
12 Apr - 07:30 PMMumbaiRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBMumbai IndiansMI240/4 (20.0)222/5 (20.0) RCB won by 18 runs
15 Apr - 07:30 PMBengaluruLucknow Super GiantsLSGRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB146/10 (20.0)149/5 (15.1) RCB won by 5 wickets (with 29 balls remaining)
18 Apr - 03:30 PMBengaluruRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBDelhi CapitalsDC175/8 (20.0)179/4 (19.5) DC won by 6 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
24 Apr - 07:30 PMBengaluruGujarat TitansGTRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB205/3 (20.0)206/5 (18.5) RCB won by 5 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
27 Apr - 07:30 PMDelhiDelhi CapitalsDCRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB75/10 (16.3)77/1 (6.3) RCB won by 9 wickets (with 81 balls remaining)
30 Apr - 07:30 PMAhmedabadRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBGujarat TitansGT155/10 (19.2)158/6 (15.5) GT won by 4 wickets (with 25 balls remaining)
07 May - 07:30 PMLucknowLucknow Super GiantsLSGRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB209/3 (19.0)203/6 (19.0) LSG won by 9 runs (DLS method)
10 May - 07:30 PMRaipurMumbai IndiansMIRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB166/7 (20.0)167/8 (20.0) RCB won by 2 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)
13 May - 08:45 PMRaipurKolkata Knight RidersKKRRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB192/4 (20.0)194/4 (19.1) RCB won by 6 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)
17 May - 03:30 PMDharamsalaRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBPunjab KingsPBKS222/4 (20.0)199/8 (20.0) RCB won by 23 runs
22 May - 07:30 PMHyderabadSunrisers HyderabadSRHRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB255/4 (20.0)200/4 (20.0) SRH won by 55 runs
Completed matches of Punjab Kings
Teams
Date
Venue
Bat First
Bat Second
Inning 1
Inning 2
Winner
31 Mar - 07:30 PMNew ChandigarhGujarat TitansGTPunjab KingsPBKS162/6 (20.0)165/7 (19.1) PBKS won by 3 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)
03 Apr - 07:30 PMChennaiChennai Super KingsCSKPunjab KingsPBKS209/5 (20.0)210/5 (18.4) PBKS won by 5 wickets (with 8 balls remaining)
06 Apr - 07:30 PMKolkataKolkata Knight RidersKKRPunjab KingsPBKS25/2 (3.4) No result
11 Apr - 03:30 PMNew ChandigarhSunrisers HyderabadSRHPunjab KingsPBKS219/6 (20.0)223/4 (18.5) PBKS won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
16 Apr - 07:30 PMMumbaiMumbai IndiansMIPunjab KingsPBKS195/6 (20.0)198/3 (16.3) PBKS won by 7 wickets (with 21 balls remaining)
19 Apr - 07:30 PMNew ChandigarhPunjab KingsPBKSLucknow Super GiantsLSG254/7 (20.0)200/5 (20.0) PBKS won by 54 runs
25 Apr - 03:30 PMDelhiDelhi CapitalsDCPunjab KingsPBKS264/2 (20.0)265/4 (18.5) PBKS won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
28 Apr - 07:30 PMNew ChandigarhPunjab KingsPBKSRajasthan RoyalsRR222/4 (20.0)228/4 (19.2) RR won by 6 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)
03 May - 07:30 PMAhmedabadPunjab KingsPBKSGujarat TitansGT163/9 (20.0)167/6 (19.5) GT won by 4 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
06 May - 07:30 PMHyderabadSunrisers HyderabadSRHPunjab KingsPBKS235/4 (20.0)202/7 (20.0) SRH won by 33 runs
11 May - 07:30 PMDharamsalaPunjab KingsPBKSDelhi CapitalsDC210/5 (20.0)216/7 (19.0) DC won by 3 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
14 May - 07:30 PMDharamsalaPunjab KingsPBKSMumbai IndiansMI200/8 (20.0)205/4 (19.5) MI won by 6 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
17 May - 03:30 PMDharamsalaRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBPunjab KingsPBKS222/4 (20.0)199/8 (20.0) RCB won by 23 runs
23 May - 07:30 PMLucknowLucknow Super GiantsLSGPunjab KingsPBKS196/6 (20.0)200/3 (18.0) PBKS won by 7 wickets (with 12 balls remaining)
Completed matches at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium
Teams
Date
Bat First
Bat Second
Inning 1
Inning 2
Winner
11 May - 07:30 PMPunjab KingsPBKSDelhi CapitalsDC210/5 (20.0)216/7 (19.0) DC won by 3 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
14 May - 07:30 PMPunjab KingsPBKSMumbai IndiansMI200/8 (20.0)205/4 (19.5) MI won by 6 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
17 May - 03:30 PMRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCBPunjab KingsPBKS222/4 (20.0)199/8 (20.0) RCB won by 23 runs
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