IPL 2026: Shreyas Iyer’s maiden IPL ton keeps PBKS’ playoff hopes alive with big win over LSG

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer (ANI Photo) Punjab Kings snapped their six-game losing streak in emphatic style as captain Shreyas Iyer hammered a magnificent unbeaten century to lead his team to a crushing seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants and keep alive their IPL 2026 playoff hopes. Chasing 197 at the Ekana Stadium, Punjab recovered from an early wobble to comfortably reach 200/3 in just 18 overs. Shreyas led the charge with a sensational 101 not out from 51 balls as he registered his maiden IPL hundred, while Prabhsimran Singh played a perfect supporting role with a blistering 69 off 39 deliveries. The pair stitched a match-defining 140-run partnership for the third wicket after Punjab ran into trouble early on. Mohammed Shami made an immediate impact by dismissing Priyansh Arya off the first ball before also removing Cooper Connolly to leave PBKS under pressure. However, Shreyas showed remarkable composure and quickly took control of the chase. The PBKS skipper dominated both pace and spin with a mix of elegant strokes, powerful strokes and signature leg sweeps. He particularly targeted spinner Digvesh Rathee, who regularly collected boundaries to completely shift the momentum in Punjab’s favour. Surviving chances of 20 and 62, Prabhsimran kept the scoreboard moving smoothly and brought up his sixth fifty of the season in just 26 balls. Shreyas reached his half-century in 33 deliveries before accelerating dramatically. His second fifty came in just 18 balls as he switched effortlessly in the death overs. Although Prabhsimran eventually fell lbw to Arjun Tendulkar, Punjab never looked under pressure again. Shreyas aptly sealed both his century and the victory with a six off Mohsin Khan. Earlier in the innings, he also smashed Shami for three sixes in one over to complete a dominant chase. The win took Punjab to fourth place in the points table with 15 points from 14 matches. However, their qualification for the playoffs still depends on other results. Rajasthan Royals, who currently have 14 points, will face Mumbai Indians on Sunday and PBKS will need Rajasthan to lose this match to stay in the playoffs. Kolkata Knight Riders also remain mathematically alive with 13 points and could still challenge Punjab on a clean sweep if the results go in their favour. Earlier, LSG posted 196/6 after strong contributions from Josh Inglis and Ayush Badoni. Inglis produced a counter-attacking 72 off 42 balls while Badoni smashed 43 off just 18 deliveries in an entertaining partnership that revived Lucknow after early setbacks. Badoni launched a brutal attack against Azmatullah Omarzai, making 24 runs from one over with a sequence of 4, 6, 6 and 4 as LSG raced to 66/2 in the powerplay despite losing Arshin Kulkarni and Nicholas Pooran early. Badoni’s innings ended after a sharp stumble by Prabhsimran against Yuzvendra Chahal, with DRS upholding the dismissal. Inglis then pitched in again and punished Arshdeep Singh with a flurry of boundaries and sixes. Rishabh Pant contributed 26 off 21 balls and shared a 65-run stand with Inglis, although the LSG skipper never looked quite fluent despite Shreyas dropping him for 18 off Chahal’s bowling. Chahal eventually removed Pant and later Inglis fell to Shashank Singh at part-time after finding Shreyas at long-on. Abdul Samad added a late unbeaten 37 off 20 balls, but once Marco Jansen dismissed Mukul Choudhary cheaply, Lucknow’s hopes of breaking the 200-run mark were dashed.