Shreyas Iyer produced one of the most important innings of Punjab Kings’ season, scoring his first IPL century to guide PBKS to a crucial seven wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants. The victory ended Punjab’s six match losing run and kept their playoff hopes alive.
Lucknow, weakened by the absence of key overseas players Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, still managed to post a strong total of 196. Ayush Badoni gave LSG early momentum with a sharp 42 off 16 balls, while Josh Inglis added a valuable fifty after recovering from a slow phase in the middle overs.
For Punjab, Yuzvendra Chahal played a key role with the ball. He removed Badoni and later got the better of Rishabh Pant, who made 26 off 22. Marco Jansen and Vijaykumar Vyshak also bowled tight overs at the death, although Arshdeep Singh had a tough outing, conceding heavily in his final over.
PBKS began their chase poorly, losing early wickets and slipping to 22 for 2 in the third over. At that stage, the match looked firmly in Lucknow’s control. But Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh changed everything with a fearless partnership.
Prabhsimran attacked the fast bowlers and scored 69, while Iyer used the depth of the crease brilliantly, especially through the off side. Once Prabhsimran departed, Iyer shifted gears. He smashed Arjun Tendulkar for consecutive boundaries and then launched Mohammed Shami for three sixes in one over.
With the target almost reached, Iyer completed the chase in style, hitting Mohsin Khan for six to bring up a memorable century. PBKS are now inside the top four and remain firmly in the playoff race.
