NEW CHANDIGARH: In the end, it came down to two men who refused to read from anyone else’s script. Shubham Dubey, walking in as an Impact Sub with Rajasthan Royals’ chase wobbling, and Donovan Ferreira, who took one look at what Dubey was doing and decided he wanted a piece of it too.Between them, an unbroken 77-run stand turned a match Punjab Kings thought they had won into one Rajasthan Royals emphatically claimed by six wickets at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium here on Tuesday. It was Punjab’s first defeat of IPL-2026. It had to come eventually, but it would hurt Shreyas Iyer & Co. a little more because they had done so much right. It began with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (43 off 16b; 3x4, 5x6) doing what he does with extraordinary regularity these days. Two defences to start, and then the 15-year-old was at it again. Arshdeep Singh went for a six and two boundaries in the first over. Lockie Ferguson, bowling at 145-plus, was treated with utter disdain as Sooryavanshi hit the Kiwi fast bowler for two sixes and a boundary, one of those sixes clearing the ropes faster than the ball had arrived. Arshdeep had the last laugh with a low full toss that Sooryavanshi skied in his eagerness to clear the boundary yet again. A boy playing like a man. A phenomenon is not too strong a word. Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 off 27b; 7x4 1x6) assumed command thereafter and was equally ruthless. Jaiswal has been in irresistible touch this IPL and he showed why, motoring Rajasthan to 84 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay. The target, at this time, was well within reach. And then Punjab’s spinners arrived, and the match tilted. Harpreet Brar was disciplined and gave nothing away, building pressure with the kind of sustained accuracy that forces mistakes. Yuzvendra Chahal, from the other end, was his partner in crime. Chahal got the wickets of Dhruv Jurel, Jaiswal and Royals skipper Riyan Parag, finishing with figures of 3/36. Impact Sub Dubey walked in when the asking rate was climbing and nerves were beginning to fray. He didn’t flinch. His 31 not out (off 12b; 3x4, 2x6) was as composed as it was brutal. The moment Dubey started timing it, Ferreira found another gear entirely. What followed was a hitting masterclass as Ferreira (52* off 26b; 6x4, 3x6) finished the match in style with a six off Marco Jansen. Earlier, Punjab Kings showed why their batting carries a sense of inevitability these days. Not just about runs, but the manner in which they go on to execute the task in hand. It’s brisk, confident, and increasingly dismissive of reputation. That mood continued as the Rajasthan Royals attack was taken apart in phases that felt both planned and instinctive. Prabhsimran Singh set the tone early, and it was not a gentle introduction. A back-of-a-length ball from Jofra Archer, clocking well above 145kph, was treated less as a threat and more as an invitation. It was carved over covers with a freedom that suggested speed alone is not going to be a deterrent. If Prabhsimran established control, Priyansh Arya injected chaos. His brief stay was a flurry of decisive strokes — a short-arm pull, a lofted drive, a punch over backward point — each executed with minimal fuss and maximum effect. Even his edges raced away to the fence, leaving Archer visibly agitated. Arya’s 29 off 11 balls might read like a cameo, but it carried the weight of momentum, forcing Rajasthan to chase the game almost immediately. Archer’s eventual retaliation, a 150kph-plus delivery which Arya could just chip to the mid-on fielder, was less a turning point and more a reminder of the contest’s pace. Despite the wicket, Punjab didn’t retreat. They simply shifted gears. Cooper Connolly slipped into the aggressor’s role seamlessly. Where Arya was explosive, Connolly was calculated aggression. He targeted lengths, especially anything marginally short, and punished spin with clean, straight hitting. His assault on young leg-spinner Yash Punja ensured the momentum from the Powerplay, where Punjab scored 65/1, was continued. Connolly’s (30 off 14b; 2x4, 3x6) eventual dismissal, slicing one to long-off, came in the process of trying to extend that pressure. Through all of this, Prabhsimran (59 off 44b; 6x4, 1x6) remained the thread binding the innings. His half-century, compiled with composure rather than frenzy, was reflective of a batter taking responsibility. He couldn’t cash in though for more and was lured out of the crease by Yash, as a mistimed shot had him caught at extra cover. Shreyas Iyer’s (30 off 27b; 1x4, 1x6) contribution felt more complicated. For a while, he seemed stuck between gears, unable to align with the tempo around him. Even his eventual acceleration, sparked curiously by a change of bat, felt reactive rather than assertive. And then came Marcus Stoinis (62 not out off 22b; 4x4, 6x6), who turned a strong innings into an imposing one. By the time he went full throttle, Rajasthan’s plans had frayed. Archer’s pace, Brijesh’s discipline — neither held against Stoinis. The final overs saw Stoinis power Punjab past the point of a good total into something far more daunting. Archer, one of the toughest death bowlers in the world, was taken on and twice the boundary ropes were cleared. The final over, bowled by Brijesh, yielded 24 runs as Stoinis thumped three fours and a couple of sixes.