Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer (ANI Photo) Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a dominant performance to beat Punjab Kings and move to the top of the IPL 2026 table as Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan took advantage of sloppy fielding to guide their side to a strong total before the bowlers sealed control in the chase. Heinrich Klaasen (69) and Ishan Kishan (55) helped Sunrisers Hyderabad reach 235/4 after Punjab Kings opted to bowl. In reply, Punjab Kings were restricted to 202/7 despite a stunning unbeaten century from Cooper Connolly (107*) as SRH’s disciplined bowling saw them win by 41 runs and climb to the top of the table. It was the third defeat in a row for Punjab Kings, with dropped catches being costly throughout the innings. Klaasen and Kishan both survived the early chances before punishing the attack while the SRH bowlers, including Pat Cummins and Shivang Kumar, applied constant pressure in the chase. PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer was candid after the loss and pointed to fielding lapses as the key difference between the two sides. “I think it was a little bit too much (the target) because we dropped a lot of catches early on and could have easily delayed their score by 30 to 40 runs, I think. Because the wicket kept slowing down and the cutters were holding on a bit. So we weren’t comprehensive enough on the field, either bowling or batting. So I think they showed us some comprehensive cricket and they showed us the match.” Considering his team’s recent slump after a strong start to the season, he added: “I feel like we’ve had a fairytale start to this tournament and everyone’s been in a great space and the mindset has been top-notch. I think it’s important that we stay with the same mindset. It’s easy to get carried away with the negative talk about things. But we definitely have to go back and reflect on the things that didn’t go our way in particular the last three games and make sure we come back strong.” Iyer also praised the fighting spirit of Cooper Connolly, who almost single-handedly kept PBKS in the competition: “He (Connolly) is phenomenal. His mindset is top-notch and the character he brings to the pitch. It’s something all players can learn from him. Plus I feel he has the ability to score big runs in pressure situations. He’s done that in the past and he was the right example today. He was fearless against left-handers and his approach was fantastic” (Cha). He went on to admit that errors in the field changed the course of the game: “I asked him to attack, especially when they were new batsmen because they attacked right from the first ball. And at that point it was key to get wickets. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to catch. I think that was the biggest problem for us in the game today. But it’s definitely something to reflect on and come back stronger.”
