Shreyas Iyer’s maiden IPL century pulled Punjab Kings to a seven-wicket win. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

After six morale-destroying losses, one after the other, Punjab Kings put on a dominant show at the Ekana Stadium against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.

The visitor, powered by a Shreyas Iyer’s maiden IPL century, secured a seven-wicket victory that put it on the brink of the Playoffs. A Rajasthan Royals loss to the Mumbai Indians, and Kolkata Knight Riders not catching up in terms of Net Run Rate on Sunday will guarantee the Kings a knockout spot for the second-consecutive season.

Chasing a tricky 197, the Kings started disastrously. A returning Mohammed Shami struck with his first ball to dismiss Priyansh Arya and soon bowled Cooper Conolly with a sharp, swinging delivery.

PBKS found its recovery through captain Shreyas and Prabhsimran Singh. The duo counter-attacked against the run of play, successfully steering their side out of trouble to reach 65 for two by the end of the PowerPlay.

Prabhsimran continued finding the gaps to keep the run flow intact. The opener got to his fifty in 28 balls. He capped off the moment with a 14-run over against Mohsin Khan.

A 59-ball 100-run partnership between him and his skipper ensued shortly after. Shreyas too got to his 50, his sixth this season, all coming in chases.

While Arjun Tendulkar, making his LSG debut, removed Prabhsimran, Shreyas smashed a century off the last ball of the chase to ensure his side got past the finish line with ease.

Earlier, Shreyas elected to bowl against a Mitchell Marsh-less LSG.

Josh Inglis maintained his aggressive intent for LSG. He opened the innings with a flurry of boundaries off Arshdeep Singh, fueling a blazing start. However, Arshin Kulkarni’s golden duck and Nicholas Pooran’s cheap dismissal stalled the momentum.

Looking for a spark, LSG found an unlikely saviour in Ayush Badoni. He shrugged off a string of low scores by counter-attacking with 30 runs in the final two overs of the PowerPlay, reviving LSG’s innings. Yet, this resurgence was cut short immediately by Prabhsimran’s lightning-fast stumping. From there, Inglis and skipper Rishabh Pant combined to take LSG to the 100-run mark in the 10th over.

Inglis continued to haunt Arshdeep even after picking 16 off his first over. He smashed 17 runs in the 12th over and, in process, completed his half-century.

To add insult to injury, skipper Shreyas dropped a sitter for Pant at covers. However, the 65-run partnership came to a close as Pant miscued a slog sweep to Jansen at backward square leg.

Despite frequently taking wickets, PBKS bowlers consistently failed to restrict runs—a defining struggle of their season. Consequently, they hold the worst economy rate (10.40) in the tournament.

With frontline pacer Arshdeep taken to the cleaners, Shreyas had to rely on part-timer Shashank Singh to fill the void. After marginal returns in his first two overs, he struck at the end of his third to dismiss Inglis. The Australian clobbered a length delivery, but Shreyas at long on was straighter than usual to complete the catch.

The breakthrough dried up the runs for a bit, but a late cameo from Abdul Samad ultimately propelled LSG to a competitive 196 for six. However, even that was insufficient against a clinical Shreyas.

Published on May 23, 2026