IPL Dispatch: Ramakrishna Ghosh Ruled Out Of Tournament; Punjab Kings Face New Reality

Sunday's (May 3, 2026) double-header in the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw two teams post 160-odd totals, and both discover how hard it is to defend them. The 19th edition of the world's biggest T20 league has not just been about towering sixes and run-fests, with several low-scoring encounters adding flavour and restoring some semblance of bat-ball balance.

ALSO READ: GT Vs PBKS Highlights

But 46 matches in, one clear pattern has held sway: chasing, in general, has been easier, and only two sub-160 totals have been defended successfully. Punjab Kings (PBKS) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) could neither find the '160 fix', as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) both brought up their third consecutive wins.

The Kings, meanwhile, faced a new reality after setting the pace for majority of the league phase. Following a seven-match unbeaten run, PBKS have now lost back-to-back games and though they still stand atop the points table, Shreyas Iyer and Co would want to arrest the slide before doubts begin to creep in.

Peaking at the right time is a common refrain in lengthy leagues and tournaments, and Punjab would no doubt be mindful of the same as the race for playoff spots really heats up. Sunday's loss snapped SunRisers' five-match winning streak but could not shake them off the third spot in the standings.

PBKS and Royal Challengers Bengaluru are frontrunners for the top two spots, but Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and GT all lurk behind and any twist is possible in the business end. With that, let us go through some of the other major IPL 2026 talking points in the past 24 hours.

Mittal Family Swoops In To Acquire Royals

The Royals' sale was done and dusted, most thought. But a late swoop from industrialist Lakshmi Mittal's family along with Adar Poonawala meant the Kal Somani–Rob Walton–Sheila Ford Hamp consortium pulled out of the race.

Mittal and his son Aditya, along with Poonawalla, have acquired a majority stake in RR with a bid of USD 1.65 billion (around INR 15,600 crore) and completion is subject to customary closing conditions. The Mittal family will own around 75 per cent of the franchise, with Poonawalla holding around 18 per cent. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

Laggards To Lock Horns

Few would have envisaged Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) to be the bottom two teams at this phase of the season. But that's how IPL goes, and this is how things stand as the Rishabh Pant-led side visits Hardik Pandya and Co at the Wankhede Stadium.

With four points apiece, both teams are almost out of playoffs contention. But they have lots to play for: MI are hoping for Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav to come good, as also for Rohit Sharma to be fit enough to finally return to action from a hamstring injury.

Pant, on the other hand, finds himself at a crossroads with questions being asked on his white-ball game. The dashing India wicketkeeper-batter would be desperate for a revival in his side's fortunes, as LSG brace for three games in a span of seven days.

Ghosh's Campaign Cut Short

In not-so-good news for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), their bowling all-rounder Ramakrishna Ghosh has been ruled out of IPL 2026 with a fracture to the right foot sustained during the 'El Clasico' game against Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Saturday. The 28-year-old had made a strong debut during the CSK vs MI match, completing a spectacular catch to send back Will Jacks and then dismissing Suryakumar. Unfortunately, his campaign ends after just one outing.

Quote Of The Day

The defeat to GT stung Punjab skipper Iyer not only because it was their second on the trot, but also because his team failed to defend what he thought was a "great" total. Iyer said at the post-match presentation: “I personally thought it was a great score.

"The new ball was doing a bit at the start. Their bowlers made best use of the surface, the way they were hitting the deck. We lost four wickets in the powerplay, just to get to 160 from there was a phenomenal effort."

The India middle-order batter added, “With the new ball, I thought we would be able to hit line and length and be accurate and get wickets, but it didn't work out. Kudos to the effort, attitude and approach. We missed on hitting the hard lengths, I think. Hitting over midwicket wasn't easy on this wicket, there was variable bounce."

Elsewhere...

In Lahore, Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie produced a match-winning performance with bat as well as ball to help Peshawar Zalmi become Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions for the second time. Hardie returned figures of 4 for 27 to help bundle out Hyderabad Kingsmen for 129, before hitting an unbeaten half century to guide Zalmi to victory at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Photo Of The Day

With 32,461 spectators in attendance, the PSL 2026 final set a new benchmark for turnout in the league's history. Fans were not allowed to watch games from the stadiums before the playoffs owing to the oil crisis in Pakistan, but their enthusiasm for the summit clash made up for it.