Shreyas Iyer delivered a masterful captain’s innings as Punjab Kings defeated Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets on Saturday, keeping their IPL 2026 playoff hopes alive. Pursuing a challenging 197, Iyer’s unbeaten 101 from 51 deliveries guided PBKS to victory with two overs to spare. Prabhsimran Singh contributed a blazing 69 from 39 balls to support the successful chase. Earlier, Josh Inglis hammered 72 from 44 deliveries as LSG managed 196 for 6. LSG stumbled to 20 for 2 early on before Inglis and Ayush Badoni (43 from 18) rescued them with a vital 49-run stand. Though Badoni fell short of his fifty, Inglis anchored the innings, striking nine boundaries and two maximums. Abdul Samad provided a valuable unbeaten 37 from 20 balls in the closing stages. Marco Jansen and Yuzvendra Chahal claimed two wickets each for Punjab. Shreyas ton gives Punjab Kings a boost in playoff qualification.
TOSS
Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first.
PLAYING XI
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI):
Josh Inglis, Arshin Kulkarni, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Arjun Tendulkar, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan
Punjab Kings (Playing XI):
Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS
Josh Inglis gave Lucknow Super Giants a blistering beginning, smashing four boundaries in the first over. Ayush Badoni seized control against Marco Jansen and Azmatullah Omarzai, helping LSG accumulate 42 runs from the final two powerplay overs. Between these explosive phases were three subdued overs, during which Arshin Kulkarni and Nicholas Pooran departed cheaply, with PBKS yielding just eight runs.
Shortly after the powerplay concluded, Badoni was dismissed through excellent glovework by Prabhsimran Singh. Deceived by a Yuzvendra Chahal quicker ball, Badoni missed his attempted cut shot. However, he continued his body movement and raised his back foot, allowing the alert wicketkeeper to remove the bails. Badoni’s explosive cameo had rescued LSG from their shaky beginning, and now Inglis – who had mainly observed the fireworks from the opposite end – stepped up to lead.
Following a couple of relatively quiet overs, the opener unleashed against Vijaykumar Vyshak, hammering the fast bowler for a four and six. After managing just 27 runs from his opening 22 balls, Inglis devastated the PBKS bowling attack. Arshdeep Singh suffered heavily in the 12th over, conceding 19 runs as the bowler was dismantled. He even targeted Shashank Singh but eventually succumbed to the medium pacer, though not before adding 45 from his subsequent 22 deliveries.
Rishabh Pant’s struggles continued mounting. The LSG batsman found some early boundaries during his knock, but appeared as uncomfortable as he has throughout this season. He battled his way to 26 from 22 balls.
Shashank had bowled three economical overs during the second half of LSG’s innings, maintaining under 10 runs per over. Vyshak and Jansen also delivered several tight overs during the death phase, but this was undermined when Abdul Samad found a couple of fortunate boundaries in the final over against Arshdeep Singh, pushing the total to a challenging 192.
PUNJAB KINGS
For the fifth occasion this season, Mohammed Shami struck in his opening over – this time inducing Priyansh Arya to rush a pull shot and top-edge a catch to midwicket from the very first delivery. He further damaged LSG by bowling Cooper Connolly two overs afterwards.
Despite losing two early wickets and hitting no sixes during the powerplay, Punjab Kings maintained a rapid scoring rate, finding at least one boundary each over. At the powerplay’s conclusion, Prabhsimran and Iyer had established the foundation for their innings, and with 65 runs scored, they were matching the required run rate.
Pant deployed two left-arm pace bowlers – Arjun Tendulkar and Mohsin Khan – from both ends to target the pair with disciplined lines and sharp bounce. Prabhsimran appeared slightly uncomfortable and even survived when he edged a delivery to the keeper, but he kept changing his stance to disturb the bowlers’ lengths with considerable success.
The strategy worked effectively. He progressed to another fifty, reaching the milestone in just 28 deliveries. The wicketkeeper-batsman survived another opportunity when Badoni dropped a straightforward chance at cover. The decision favored the batsman after the third umpire reviewed the replays carefully.
Nevertheless, this reprieve was short-lived as he was adjudged leg-before in the following over to Arjun, giving the pacer his first wicket of the season. By then, Prabhsimran had inflicted the necessary damage and virtually decided the match’s outcome. The 140-run partnership had reduced the required rate to merely 7 runs per over for the final phase.
Composed, untroubled and dominant. Arriving at the crease after two quick dismissals, Shreyas appeared completely in charge of his innings, patient in his methodology, and poised to dominate all bowling options. He was prepared to restrain his aggression when necessary and launch his attack when the delivery was in his preferred area. He executed hooks and cuts confidently, showing assurance when advancing down the pitch. He avoided risky shots on the rise but completed his century off the final ball of PBKS’ innings to secure both the chase and his hundred.
Brief Scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 196/6 in 20 overs (Josh Inglis 72 [44], Ayush Badoni 43 [18]; Yuzvendra Chahal 2-27, Marco Jansen 2-33) lost to Punjab Kings 200/3 in 18 overs (Shreyas Iyer 101* [51], Prabhsimran Singh 69 [39]; Mohammed Shami 2-45, Arjun Tendulkar 1-36) by 7 wickets.
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