Brief Scores: PBKS (254 for 7 in 20 overs) beat LSG (200/5 in 20 overs) by 54 runs in Match No. 29 of IPL 2026 at Mullanpur on Sunday. PBKS vs LSG, IPL 2026: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
They say you should be careful what you wish for. At the toss, Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant wanted his team to try and take a risk and score 220 rather than hit 200 and hope the bowling attack does its thing.
It’s safe to say that Pant got what he wished for. Within one-and-a-half hours of these comments, Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings handed Lucknow the highest points chase in the Indian Premier League 2026. Youngsters Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly launched a stunning onslaught against the visitors and helped Punjab to a mammoth total of 254 runs, which proved too much for the Luckchase.
Faced with this mega score on the absolute tarmac at the Mullanpur Stadium, the LSG batsmen were always left in the thick of the game and finished with a score of 200/5, falling behind by 54 runs in the evening game on Sunday, April 19.
This was the third loss in a row for LSG Rishabh Pant, who last won the match against KKR at the Eden Gardens, thanks to Mukul Choudhary’s late thunderbolt. LSG needed many such flashes today, but not a single batsman, including skipper Rishabh Pant, could turn their starts into big scores on Sunday.
It was a tough night for the entire LSG camp as Punjab tore the team apart piece by piece and sunk the LSG ship further up the IPL table.
PRIYANSH, CONNOLLY CAUSED RESEARCH
Cooper Connolly and Priyansh Arya put on 182 for the second wicket. Courtesy: Reuters
On Sunday, LSG won the toss and opted to bowl first, killing Punjab Kings’ strong chasing ability. Punjab have chased the most 200+ totals in the Indian Premier League in the last two seasons, a trend that continues this year.
After a proper toss, LSG got off to a flying start, breaking the opening partnership of Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya in the first over. Mohammed Shami, a veteran of 125 matches, beat in-form Prabhsimran Singh and first slip. With Prabh gone, Punjab suddenly had two youngsters at the crease against a potent bowling attack.
Connolly, who became famous Punjab’s opening match of the season against Gujarat Titansfought hard in the power play, failed to read Mohsin Khan. Connolly was almost out twice against Mohsin on Sunday, the first after being tapped on the pads, a decision the umpire overruled, only for replays to later show he was LBW, sharply in front of the wicket. Mohsin then dropped Connolly off his own bowling, making the first few overs of the game a loose contest between bat and ball.
While Connolly struggled, Priyansh found his range early and raced to 21 off 8 against bowlers Connolly struggled with. Priyansh’s strike at the start of the innings helped Punjab maintain a run rate of 10 per over in the over.
At the end of the over, Connolly was struggling horribly, stuttering on 19 off 22 balls and batting at just 86.
Even at this point, there was no indication that it would end with a total of 250 runs. It wasn’t one of those starts, 100/2, 107/1 in the first 6 overs, that help teams maintain momentum after the powerplay.
Just when it looked like something might come of it if Punjab were put under pressure, Rishabh Pant, the LSG skipper, decided to let the batsmen go by bowling Ayush Badoni at part-time in the first over.
This may have been just the break Connolly needed. The left-hander hit Badoni for four and six and never looked back from there. Shots that looked labored at the start of the innings started reaching boundaries and broke the shackles in the middle overs.
Seeing Connolly finding his form, Priyansh Arya went berserk at the other end. He completed his fifty in 19 balls before smashing Shami, Avesh Khan and Aiden Markram in a stunning counter-attack.
From 63/1 in 6 overs, the Connolly-Priyansh counter attack saw LSG run like headless chickens as they conceded 120 runs in the next 8 overs.
By the time Connolly and Priyansh quit LSG, the duo put on 182 runs in just 80 balls.
Connolly was the first to score 87 off 46, taking Punjab’s total to a stunning 186/2 in just 14 overs.
The damage was done by then.
RISHABH PANT HAS A QUESTION CALL
And here we need to talk about the captaincy of Rishabh Pant, who had Manimaran Siddharth, the powerplay specialist at his disposal, who chose not to be in the first 6 overs. Additionally, Pant decided to bring on Badoni in Game 7, essentially turning the game on its head.
Pant’s lack of confidence in Siddharth was puzzling as the spinner was played ahead of Digvesh Rathi, one of LSG’s mainstays last season. After giving away 10 runs in his first over (9th of the match), the spinner was again held back until the 15th when he returned and promptly dismissed the rampaging Priyansh Arya (93 off 37) who looked set for his second IPL hundred.
Once again, Pant’s captaincy has to be questioned as he fed the in-form left-hander Aiden Markram through whom he leaked 32 runs just 2 overs before Siddharth’s.
Lucknow were very fortunate that Punjab, unlike most days, were unable to capitalize on the partnership. From 186/2 for 14, Punjab added only 68 runs in the last 6 overs. Prince Yadav must be credited for his level head, bowling his cutters and short balls, registering figures of 4-0-25-2, figures that were in stark contrast to the rest of the LSG bowling unit.
As they entered the bowl, Punjab knew they only needed to hold on to win the game. And they did that very well, courtesy of Vijaykumar Vyshak and Yuzvendra Chahal, who filled their roles well for most of the day.
MOUNT TOO STRAIGHT TO SCALE FOR LSG
Rishabh Pant scored 43 runs in Lucknow Super Giants’ chase. Courtesy: AP
Chasing 255, Lucknow knew they had to bat in only one gear. In a desperate bid, they changed their opening combination, opting for Ayush Badoni and Mitchell Marsh instead of Marsh and Aiden Markram, who usually open for the team.
The move was aimed at protecting Markram from Arshdeep Singh, who has the timber over the batter in the T20 format. LSG’s move briefly worked as Badoni and Marsh scored 61 runs in the over, almost identical to Punjab’s first innings performance.
Badoni (35 off 21) fell first, tried to hit the ball hard and ended up losing his form. A frustrated Marsh (40 off 28) was second, exasperated by Yuzvendra Chahal’s ability to drift the ball in and glide across the surface. Marsh eventually found the tall Xavier Bartlett waiting to pounce on a mistimed batter’s shot that eventually arrived in the 12th over of the game.
And from there it was business as usual. Rishabh Pant (43 off 23) played some good knocks but could not sustain the pace. Nicholas Pooran continued his horror form this season. Markram scored 42 off 22 from the batting position and hit it straight to Marc Jansen at long on.
LSG might not even have reached the 200-run mark if not for the flurry of dropped catches from Punjab. Quite uncharacteristically for Ricky Ponting’s side, Punjab wasted a total of four clear cut chances. There were more on the boundary lines and a couple of caught and bowled tries that PBKS probably should have held on to.
Ponting, on the sidelines, was confused in the field and flushed with anger in the dugout. And perhaps that would be one of the discussions likely to be had by Punjab Kings after the match despite continuing their unbeaten run this season.
Life just got tougher when it comes to LSG. Ahead of the PBKS match, the LSG owner did an interview with NDTV where he was asked if the rumors about his anger at the captains were true. LSG’s owner denied it at the time, but that may change today.
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– The end
Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
20 Apr 2026 0:10 AM IST
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