Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer (ANI Image)
Punjab Kings ended their six-match losing streak in emphatic style as skipper Shreyas Iyer hit a brilliant unbeaten century to lead his side to a crushing seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants and keep their IPL 2026 playoff hopes alive. Chasing 197 at the Ekana Stadium, Punjab recovered from the early wobble to comfortably reach 200/3 in just 18 overs. Shreyas led the attack with a sensational 101 off 51 balls, registering his maiden IPL hundred, while Prabhsimran Singh played the perfect supporting role with 69 off 39 deliveries.
The duo put together a 140-run partnership to decide the match for the third wicket after Punjab slid into early trouble. Mohammed Shami struck immediately by dismissing Priyansh Arya for a first-ball duck before also removing Cooper Connolly to leave PBKS under pressure. However, Shreyas showed remarkable composure and soon took control of the chase. The PBKS skipper controlled both pace and spin with a mixture of elegant pushes, powerful pulls and trademark flicks across the leg side. He particularly targeted spinner Digvesh Rathee, as he regularly collected boundaries to completely shift the momentum in Punjab’s favour. Prabhsimran, who survived chances on 20 and 62, kept the scoreboard moving fluently and brought up his sixth fifty of the season in just 26 balls.
Shreyas reached his half-century in 33 deliveries before accelerating dramatically. His second fifty came in just 18 balls as he switched gears with ease in the death overs. Although Prabhsimran eventually fell to Arjun Tendulkar, Punjab were not under pressure again. Fittingly, Shreyas sealed his century and victory with a six off Mohsin Khan. Earlier in the innings, he had also smashed Shami for three sixes in one over to complete a dominant chase. The win lifted Punjab to fourth place in the points table with 15 points from 14 matches. However, their qualification for the playoffs still depends on other results. Rajasthan Royals are currently facing 14 points
Mumbai Indians
on Sunday, and PBKS will need Rajasthan to lose that match to stay in the playoff positions. Kolkata Knight Riders also remain mathematically alive on 13 points, and could still challenge Punjab on net run rate if results go their way. Earlier, LSG scored 196/6 after strong contributions from Josh Inglis and Aayush Badoni. Inglis produced 72 off 42 balls, while Badoni scored 43 off just 18 deliveries in an entertaining partnership that revitalized Lucknow after early setbacks. Badoni launched a brutal attack on Azmatullah Omarzai, taking 24 runs off one over in a sequence of 4, 6, 6 and 4 as LSG raced to 66/2 in the powerplay despite losing Arshin Kulkarni and Nicholas Pooran early. Badoni’s innings ended after a sharp stump by Prabhisimran Yuzvendra Chahal, with the dismissal confirmed by DRS. Inglis then switched gears again and punished Arshdeep Singh with a flurry of boundaries and sixes. Rishabh Pant contributed 26 off 21 balls and shared a 65-run stand with Inglis, though the LSG skipper did not look entirely fluent despite being dropped on 18 by Shreyas off Chahal’s bowling. Chahal eventually removed Pant and Inglis later fell to part-time spinner Shashank Singh after finding Shreyas at long off. Abdul Samad added an unbeaten late 37 off 20 balls, but once Marco Janssen dismissed Mukul Choudhury cheaply, Lucknow’s hopes of crossing the 200-run mark were dashed.
