A
commanding victory for Punjab Kings and they remain unbeaten in IPL 2026. They
chase down 220 with seven balls to spare and with six wickets in hand. They now
have seven points in four games. Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, need
to get back to the drawing board quickly as they have now suffered two losses
in a row. The second
game of the double-header Saturday has already begun. Chennai Super Kings are
hosting Delhi Capitals. Do switch tabs to follow live-action. Itβs time for us
to wrap up our coverage of this game. This is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentators Ninaad Dixit, Darpan Tikiya, scorers Manish Bishnoi and Paras Yadav and statistician Aman.
Bye bye.
Shreyas Iyer in Mullanpur today: Scored 69* runs in 33 balls with 5 fours & 5 sixes
Shreyas Iyer (Player of the Match, Punjab Kings Captain): "[on the performance] I would like to say that we got a phenomenal start. When you're chasing 220, you need such starts and the way they showed how to play powerplay was magnificent to watch. It was pleasing to the eye, it was proper cricketing shots and they studied the rhythm at the start. I wouldn't say easy but just to maintain that momentum especially, I just said that I have to give myself a little bit of time in between and once I gauge the pace of the wicket, I'll be able to capitalize on it and it worked out.
[on the bowling powerplay] All of us came together and Shashank approached me and was like, "Give me an over. I've come with a certain plan." So Ricky came and asked me what's your thought? I said I'm going to go with Shashank because I need someone who bowls around 120. I need to take the pace off of these two batsmen because they were going bonkers. He lived up to his expectations and whatever he said that about taking a wicket, he did that. So kudos to him and his thought process and also the other bowlers. The way they came back, it was phenomenal and that shows the character and attitude the team possesses. We want to maintain the same rhythm going forward.
[on the group's confidence before the chase] At the end of the day, all of us know that we've got the skills. At the back of the mind it's important to have a strong mindset when you go for such chases. Openers - we don't need to tell them how to go about it but since they've been flowing throughout - right from the start - I don't think they need to curb their instincts. Others I think that with such platform - it's easy for us to go out and rotate strike and see to it that we go according to the required rate. I personally feel that overall we've been magnificent with the work ethics and also the 2 days break which we got. All players came in together, they trained. I am very ecstatic at this moment because you can see the work deliver on the field.
[on being a leader] I keep reiterating every now and then that you need to be in the present. You can't think about what's happened and what's going to happen. I personally feel Ricky also takes important in this aspect. It signifies the character of our team. Even last year we came so close to winning the trophy so this is that year where we are basically eyeing the trophy and we want to lift it. It's going to take hard work, process and lot of efforts by every individual to see to it that they envision lifting the trophy."
Player of the Match: Shreyas Iyer
Most Dot Balls in the Match: Arshdeep Singh (10 Dot Balls)
Super Fours of the Match: Abhishek Sharma (5 Fours)
Super Sixes of the Match: Abhishek Sharma (8 Sixes)
Super Striker of the Match: Priyansh Arya (SR 285)
7:29 PM IST, Local Time: It's time for the post-match presentation.
Most Runs vs SRH in IPL: 874 - Virat Kohli 867 - Sanju Samson 636 - Shreyas Iyer* 626 - Rishabh Pant 624 - Faf du Plessis