Chennai Super Kings built what looked like a match-winning total. Shreyas Iyer had other ideas.
The Punjab Kings captain led his side to a five-wicket victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, chasing down 209 with eight balls to spare and sending PBKS to the top of the IPL 2026 table with back-to-back wins.
Photo Credit: Reuters
CSK’s innings was built on the back of a brilliant 73 off 43 from Ayush Mhatre, the India Under-19 World Cup-winning skipper who looked completely at home on the big stage. He shared a 96-run stand with Ruturaj Gaikwad before Punjab pulled things back with three quick wickets. Sarfaraz Khan then cracked a cheeky 32 off 12, and Shivam Dube finished unbeaten on 45 off 27 to help CSK post 209 for 5. The last five overs alone produced 64 runs.
Punjab’s reply started at full throttle. Priyansh Arya smashed 39 off just 11 balls, hammering four sixes before the powerplay was done. The momentum kept building through useful partnerships, but when Cooper Connolly fell to a Kamboj full toss, Punjab still needed 83 off 49.
That was the moment Iyer took over. He clubbed Rahul Chahar for two sixes in the 13th over and followed up with a four and six off Matt Henry to bring up his fifty off just 26 deliveries. Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh finished the job, extending Punjab’s record to nine successful IPL chases of 200 or more.
For CSK, it is two defeats from two. Their bowling has now conceded 338 runs across 30.5 overs for just seven wickets this season. A trip to Bengaluru on Sunday will not get any easier.
