Lucknow, May 24: Punjab Kings (PBKS) secured a crucial victory in the 68th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Saturday. Played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, PBKS defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by seven wickets, keeping their playoff hopes alive. Captain Shreyas Iyer played a pivotal role, scoring an unbeaten century.
With this win, Punjab Kings climbed to fourth place in the points table with 15 points, having won seven out of 14 matches. One match ended without a result due to rain. PBKS’s chances of making it to the playoffs now depend on Rajasthan Royals (RR), who are set to face Mumbai Indians on Sunday. If RR wins, they will secure the final playoff spot.
After losing the toss and opting to bat, LSG managed to score 196 runs for the loss of six wickets. They lost Arshdeep Kulkarni (0) and Nicholas Pooran (2) early, with the score at just 20. Josh Inglis then partnered with Ayush Badoni to add 49 runs in just 23 balls.
Badoni scored 43 runs off 18 balls, hitting three sixes and five fours, before being dismissed. Inglis then formed a crucial partnership with captain Rishabh Pant, adding 65 runs for the fourth wicket in 43 balls, with Pant contributing 26 runs.
Inglis continued to build momentum, adding 35 runs with Abdul Samad for the fifth wicket in just 19 balls. He finished with a score of 72 runs off 42 balls, including two sixes and nine fours, while Samad chipped in with 37 runs. For PBKS, Marco Jansen and Yuzvendra Chahal each took two wickets, while Azmatullah Omarzai and Shashank Singh claimed one wicket each.
In response, Punjab Kings chased down the target in 18 overs. They lost Priyansh Arya (0) on the very first ball. Cooper Connolly partnered with Prabhsimran Singh to add 22 runs for the second wicket.
Connolly scored 18 runs off 10 balls before returning to the pavilion. Captain Iyer then teamed up with Prabhsimran for a massive 140-run partnership for the third wicket, off 76 balls, bringing the team closer to victory.
Prabhsimran scored 69 runs off 39 balls, hitting two sixes and seven fours. By the end of the 15th over, PBKS had scored 162 runs for the loss of three wickets. Iyer then added an unbeaten 38 runs with Suryansh Shedge in just 18 balls, sealing an easy victory.
Iyer finished with an impressive 101 runs off 51 balls, hitting five sixes and eleven fours, while Suryansh remained not out with 9 runs off 7 balls. For LSG, Mohammad Shami was the standout bowler with two wickets, while Arjun Tendulkar took one.
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