For a major part of IPL 2026, Punjab Kings occupied one of the top two spots in the points table, and seemed on course to finish there, much like they did in 2025. However, four straight defeats after a spotless run in the first seven games have now placed them in a somewhat delicate situation. While their batters have delivered consistently, the bowlers have had a dismal run, an aspect that has hurt them massively in the second half of the tournament, much like the sloppiness in the field.

PBKS have now conceded seven 200-plus totals in 10 outings (a joint IPL record for a single edition), to go with 195/6 against MI earlier in the tournament. The two exceptions have come against GT, and in the most recent fixtures of the two, Shreyas Iyer's batters were themselves limited to 163/9 batting first, a rare under-par batting show. They lead in the two key metrics on batting among the 10 teams: average runs per wicket of 38.4 (next best: 34.08, tournament average: 30.8) and run-rate of 11 (next best: 10.78, tournament average: 9.82). The bowling numbers stand on the other extreme.

Only 16.8% of their overs have been bowled by spinners, almost half of the overall tournament percentage of 32%. Therefore, the seam bowling stats would help in making a fair assessment, considering there was not a single ball of spin across 39 overs of action in Dharamsala on Monday, where they also play their next two games.

Team-wise seam bowling stats in IPL 2026

200-plus chases have become the norm in the IPL of late, especially in 2026, which has witnessed a record 14 of those, most of them without breaking a sweat, conveying that bowlers have indeed endured a tough time. But PBKS and RR (the other team to have conceded seven 200-plus totals), are the ones to have had a downward slide after a solid start in the first half.

PBKS' defeat to DC defied the odds on multiple parameters. The short boundary dimensions and a high altitude play a fair part in run-scoring at Dharamsala, wherein the average first innings score in previous five IPL games (since 2023) had been 209. The side batting first had won four of them. PBKS posted 210/5, and DC suffered a familiar early collapse, reduced to 33/3 in the fifth over. The hosts failed to capitalize against a team that had the second-worst average runs per wicket (28.15) and the third-worst run-rate (9.21) heading into the contest, not to mention they had lost five of their previous six games and made five changes to their XII for this one. As it turned out, it was just the third instance of a team chasing a 200-plus total after losing their first three wickets for under 50 in IPL history.

Arshdeep had a rare good outing, having gone at 10.42 across his previous 10 matches. Marco Jansen and Vijaykumar Vyshak have been expensive of late; the former has gone wicketless in five out of 10 matches. Their overseas seamers (bar Marcus Stoinis) have collectively bagged 13 wickets from 81 overs at 67.61 (ER: 10.85). It may also be noted that their comeback with the ball against SRH in Mullanpur, was catalysed by Shashank Singh who removed both openers after they had added 120 in eight overs.

PBKS frontline seamers in IPL 2026

In terms of pure bowling numbers, PBKS were the least affected sides in the first half of the tournament, until April 25, when they gunned down 265 against DC; and SRH chased down 229 against RR later - both with more than an over to spare. A batting line-up with top-four in form and Jansen slated to come in at No. 8 helped them overcome that flaw. All other teams had far superior bowling numbers in wins than PBKS did until that point.

Team-wise bowling stats in IPL 2025 until Match 36 (pace and spin combined)

Only RR (11.18) exceed PBKS' economy rate of (10.73) in the tournament since, the corresponding numbers for the seamers for the two teams being 12 and 11.24 respectively. PBKS had conceded 200-plus on seven occasions in 2025 too, but their bowlers had a decent tournament overall - fourth among all teams in terms of bowling average and strike-rates - with Arshdeep, Jansen and Chahal collectively bagging 53 wickets. That run included a stunning win over KKR - an all-time IPL record for the lowest total defended (111).

PBKS have just one win from six games in Dharamsala since 2023, and one of their two remaining home fixtures is against table-toppers RCB. LSG, whom they face last, are bottom placed in the points table, but have breached 200 in each of their last three outings. That the LSG seamers have a collective ER of ER: 9.06 - the best in the tournament, and Lucknow has been among the least batting-friendly among all the venues this season (Avg 1st innings score: 166) could challenge PBKS' stronger suit too. For a campaign that started with much flair has dwindled thereafter, and it doesn't get any easier with them now being a part of the mid-table logjam.