Punjab Kings finally returned to winning ways after suffering six consecutive defeats, as skipper Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a magnificent unbeaten century to guide his side to a dominant seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on Saturday, May 23.
Shreyas smashed his maiden IPL hundred off just 51 balls and stitched together a brilliant 140-run partnership for the third wicket with Prabhsimran Singh, who played a fluent knock of 69 off 39 deliveries. Chasing a challenging target of 197, Punjab Kings comfortably reached 200/3 in only 18 overs after LSG had posted 196/6.
The crucial victory helped Punjab Kings climb back to fourth place on the points table with 15 points from 14 matches. However, their playoff qualification still depends on other results. Rajasthan Royals, currently on 14 points, will face Mumbai Indians on Sunday, May 24. If RR win, Punjab will seal a playoff spot with 16 points.
Kolkata Knight Riders also remain mathematically alive in the race. If Rajasthan fail to beat Mumbai, KKR could still qualify depending on their result against Delhi Capitals and the net run rate equation. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans have already secured playoff qualification.
Punjab’s chase began disastrously as Mohammed Shami dismissed Priyansh Arya for a golden duck and then removed Cooper Connolly to leave PBKS in trouble early on. However, Shreyas remained unfazed and produced a captain’s knock under pressure.
The PBKS skipper looked in complete control as he punished both pacers and spinners with elegant drives, powerful pulls and trademark flicks through the leg side. He was particularly severe on spinner Digvesh Rathee, while Prabhsimran provided solid support from the other end.
Prabhsimran registered his sixth half-century of the season in just 26 balls, while Shreyas reached his fifty off 33 deliveries. After reaching the milestone, the PBKS captain shifted gears brilliantly, scoring his next 51 runs in only 18 balls.
Although Prabhsimran eventually departed after being trapped lbw by Arjun Tendulkar, Punjab never lost control of the chase. Shreyas completed his memorable century with a six off Mohsin Khan, which also sealed victory for Punjab Kings. Earlier in the innings, he had also hammered Shami for three sixes in a single over.
Earlier, Josh Inglis played a superb innings of 72 to help Lucknow Super Giants recover and post a competitive total of 196/6. Inglis shared a valuable 65-run stand with captain Rishabh Pant after LSG had slipped to 69/3 in the seventh over.
Inglis started aggressively, smashing four boundaries in the opening over bowled by Arshdeep Singh. He later found strong support from Ayush Badoni, who played a quickfire cameo of 43 off just 18 balls. Badoni took on Azmatullah Omarzai with complete freedom, smashing him for 24 runs in one over that included two sixes and two fours.
Badoni’s entertaining innings ended when Prabhsimran produced a sharp stumping off Yuzvendra Chahal. Inglis, however, continued his attacking approach and reached his fifty in just 28 deliveries. Pant struggled to find fluency but managed to contribute valuable runs before being dismissed by Chahal, who finished with figures of 2/25.
Inglis was eventually dismissed by part-time bowler Shashank Singh after finding Shreyas at long-on. Abdul Samad provided late fireworks with an unbeaten 37 off 20 balls, but Lucknow ultimately fell short of crossing the 200-run mark.
