Watch: Marcus Stoinis brings up 20-ball half-century during the PBKS vs RR clash in IPL 2026

By the time Marcus Stoinis walked into the middle during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash between the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, the home side was limping a little at 144/3 in 14 overs and soon lost their captain, Shreyas Iyer. 

It was puzzling and scary to believe how the team crossed the 220-run mark in their allotted 20 overs, despite Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh failing to get the rhythm of the bat. Rajasthan were clinical in their middle overs’ bowling on a comparatively small ground.

Marcus Stoinis celebrates fifty vs RR in IPL 2026

Marcus Stoinis was not finding it hard to connect the ball at the start, being on four runs off six balls. On the final delivery of the 15th over, he smashed Yash Raj Punja for a massive six as he hung back in the crease and used his power to muscle the short ball over the wide long-on region.

The Australian batter picked the length delivery and stepped across his stumps before depositing the big hit into the long-on region for an 89-meter six. He clubbed the next ball for a boundary into the mid-wicket region, getting a thick inside-edge.

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Jofra Archer was the most lethal bowler of the evening for the Royals. And Stoinis made it look easy as he pulled the slower short ball over the deep mid-wicket for a six before clearing his front leg and smashing it back over the bowler for the same result.

In the last over against Brijesh Sharma, the veteran managed to get under the low full toss and used his power for another six over the wide long-on region for a six before cracking another over boundary in the deep mid-wicket stand to complete his fifty off just 20 balls.

See Also: Watch: Prabhsimran Singh notches up half-century with delightful boundaries during PBKS vs RR clash in IPL 2026

He remained unbeaten on 62 runs off just 22 balls with the help of four boundaries and six sixes at a strike rate of 281.82, which made a massive difference.

PBKS ends with 222/4 in 20 overs despite early struggle

Punjab finished with 222 runs for the loss of four wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Apart from Stoinis, Prabhsimran Singh also contributed with a fine knock of 59 runs off 44 balls at a strike rate of 134.09 with six boundaries and one six.

Burger had another poor evening with 1/59 in four overs. Meanwhile, the Royal made a cracking start in the chase, putting 15 runs in the very first over, before extending it to 51 runs off just 3.1 overs. 

Brief Scores (at the time of writing): RR 51/0 (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 43*) vs PBKS 222/4 (Marcus Stoinis 62*, Yash Raj 2/41)

Fans react to Stoinis’ fifty in PBKS vs RR clash during IPL 2026

Here is how the fans reacted to the batter’s 20-ball fifty against the Royals in IPL 2026-