Punjab Kings (PBKS) signed off their league-stage campaign in style with a dominant seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 68 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. Chasing a challenging target of 197, PBKS rode on a magnificent unbeaten century from captain Shreyas Iyer to complete the chase in just 18 overs and continue their impressive run in the tournament.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, Punjab Kings were put under pressure early by a brilliant innings from Josh Inglis and a late assault from Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad. However, despite Lucknow posting a competitive 196/6, PBKS responded in emphatic fashion with aggressive batting throughout the chase.
Josh Inglis leads LSG’s batting effort
Lucknow Super Giants had a shaky start as Arshin Kulkarni departed for a duck in the very first over. Nicholas Pooran also failed to make an impact, falling cheaply for just two runs, leaving the home side under pressure inside the powerplay. Josh Inglis then steadied the innings with a classy knock of 72 off 44 deliveries. The Australian wicketkeeper-batter mixed aggression with composure and struck nine boundaries along with two sixes to keep the scoreboard moving. He found useful support from skipper Rishabh Pant, who chipped in with 26 runs off 22 balls.
The innings received a major boost in the latter half thanks to Ayush Badoni’s explosive cameo. The young batter smashed 43 runs off only 18 balls, hammering five fours and three sixes to shift momentum back towards Lucknow. Abdul Samad also played a crucial hand with a 20-ball 37 that included three fours and three maximums.
Punjab Kings managed to pull things back slightly in the death overs. Marco Jansen impressed with figures of 2/33, while Yuzvendra Chahal once again showcased his experience by claiming two wickets and conceding only 25 runs in his four overs. Azmatullah Omarzai and Shashank Singh also chipped in with a wicket each as LSG finished on 196/6.
Shreyas Iyer’s masterclass stuns LSG
Punjab Kings suffered an early setback in the chase when Priyansh Arya was dismissed for a golden duck by Mohammad Shami. However, that was the only moment of joy for Lucknow in an otherwise one-sided chase. Prabhsimran Singh counterattacked brilliantly and took the pressure off PBKS with a fluent 69 off 39 deliveries. He smashed seven fours and two sixes while adding quick runs during the powerplay. Cooper Connolly also played a handy knock of 18 from just 10 balls before falling to Mohammed Shami.
The evening, though, belonged entirely to Shreyas Iyer. The PBKS skipper produced one of the finest knocks of the season, remaining unbeaten on 101 off just 51 balls. Iyer dominated the bowling attack with elegant strokeplay and fearless hitting, smashing 11 fours and five sixes during his sensational innings.
He paced the chase perfectly and ensured Punjab Kings never lost control of the contest. Suryansh Shedge remained unbeaten on nine as PBKS crossed the finish line with two overs to spare.
One of the major talking points of the match was the IPL debut of Arjun Tendulkar for Lucknow Super Giants. The left-arm pacer managed to pick up his maiden wicket in the tournament when he dismissed Prabhsimran. Arjun also contributed with the bat, scoring five runs during the final overs of the LSG innings. Although the young pacer conceded 36 runs in his four overs, the wicket marked a memorable personal milestone in his debut appearance.
The convincing win gave Punjab Kings a major confidence boost heading into the knockout stage of IPL 2026. Their batting unit looked fearless, while the bowlers did enough to restrict Lucknow below the 200-run mark on a batting-friendly surface. For Lucknow Super Giants, it was another disappointing outing in a season filled with inconsistency. Despite strong individual performances from Inglis and Badoni, their bowling attack struggled to contain the PBKS batters during the chase.
Also READ: Fans react as Arjun Tendulkar makes his much-awaited debut for LSG in IPL 2026 clash against PBKS
Here’s how fans reacted:
Excellent 💯 by Shreyas Iyer in a must win game. Captain leading from the front 👏👏#ShreyasIyer #PBKSvsLSG
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) May 23, 2026
Maiden Century for Shreyas Iyer in IPL 👏👏#ShreyasIyer #LSGvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/C3XlPj8UQ6
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) May 23, 2026
Quality chase by Punjab & Shreyas Iyer. @ShreyasIyer15 is a prime example of how these elite players make small little
Adjustments if bowlers are trying to work them out and bowls at particular length.Today Shreyas was not withdrawing his front leg on short of length… pic.twitter.com/1qSaCkfkj3
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 23, 2026
ICE COLD FINISH BY SARPANCH SAAB. 🥶
– The celebration from Shreyas Iyer says it all. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ldEucoHrVa
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 23, 2026
🚨 SHREYAS IYER HAS COMPLETED 3000 RUNS AS CAPTAIN IN IPL HISTORY 🚨
– One of the Best in IPL History! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/cjC7BTjGkQ
— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) May 23, 2026
Maiden IPL century by Shreyas Iyer!
And that too in a must win game!🔥
Where are his haters today? pic.twitter.com/UIQB834IZJ
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) May 23, 2026
Look at the emotions of Shreyas Iyer after smashing his maiden IPL HUNDRED 🥺🔥pic.twitter.com/Yuvf7uQkPX
— Jara (@JARA_Memer) May 23, 2026
Cometh the hour, cometh the man!
Shreyas gets his team across the line and keeps them alive!— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) May 23, 2026
Shreyas Iyer has always been criticized by Indian fans that he doesn’t score runs when openers fail, today it was literally 21-2 and the way Shreyas Iyer played, deserves to be appreciated.
He is the player who helped us to win Champions Trophy 2025 by his batting, who helped… pic.twitter.com/OnpTohp0oF
— Soman. (@Shreyasian96) May 23, 2026
PBKS owe it to Shreyas Iyer and Prabhsimran but their BP will remain high the next 24 hours:
PBKS will qualify if RR and KKR lose tomorrow.
PBKS will still qualify if RR lose and KKR win – unless KKR win by a margin of 78 or more or if KKR chase down whatever DC sets them in…— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) May 23, 2026
Shreyas Iyer is coming for revenge
What a fabulous knock shreyyyy 🩷— मृणमयी 🌺🌸 (@mrnamayi55575) May 23, 2026
Captain Shreyas Iyer — 27 CR for a reason 🔥🔥
Sarpanch Saab delivering when it matters most.😎#LSGvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/rU8vKPxA1C— Navya (@Navyavibes_) May 23, 2026
First IPL 💯. Batting of highest quality 👏👏. Take a bow 🙏, Shreyas Iyer.#LSGvPBKS #PBKS #TATAIPL #ShreyasIyer pic.twitter.com/UNibaOPrsh
— Gurbinder Kaur (@GKS_18) May 23, 2026
FIRST WIN IN 7 MATCHES FOR PBKS
A LONG WAIT COMES TO AN END WITH A BIG PERFORMANCE
CAPTAIN SHREYAS IYER LEADS FROM THE FRONT THE HERO OF THE NIGHT 🫡 pic.twitter.com/LWTYtDMHfC
— Dhiraj (@dhiraj01_) May 23, 2026
THIS IS A SHREYAS IYER APPRECIATION POST pic.twitter.com/ybHVm0guLn
— 𝓪𝓷𝓶𝓸𝓵 ✨ (@Molu_k12) May 23, 2026
Shreyas Iyer, match winning hundred 💯
4th Playoffs team decided last day 🥶
RR or PBKS, KKR 🥵 #LSGvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/NbR8ZchfDE— Ajay Kudecha (@ajay_kudecha) May 23, 2026
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