Punjab Kings’ opening duo of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh etched a new IPL record as they became the first uncapped pair to reach 1,000 partnership runs. The landmark was achieved during PBKS’ clash with Mumbai Indians in Dharamsala on Thursday, when their stand pushed the team total to 24.
Record partnership and key break
- Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh combined to become the first uncapped opening partnership in IPL history to cross the 1,000-run mark.
- The milestone came as PBKS reached 24 in their innings against Mumbai Indians on Thursday.
- In the same match, the pair also assembled a 50-run opening stand.
- Deepak Chahar eventually ended their momentum by dismissing Priyansh Arya for 22.
Prabhsimran Singh’s numbers also underlined his rapid rise. He struck 549 runs in 2025 and followed it with 439* in 2026. With those outputs, he became only the third uncapped Indian batter to score 400 or more runs in multiple IPL seasons. The other two to have achieved that feat are Suryakumar Yadav (2018, 2019 and 2020) and Abhishek Sharma (2022 and 2024).
Toss, captaincy changes and team form
- Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and opted to field first for Mumbai Indians against Punjab Kings in their IPL 2026 match in Dharamsala on Thursday.
- Bumrah is captaining Mumbai Indians in the IPL for the first time, while regular skipper Hardik Pandya is sidelined with a back spasm.
- Stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav was also unavailable due to personal reasons.
- Punjab Kings entered the game having suffered four successive defeats at a crucial stage of the season.
- After seven matches, PBKS had been sitting at the top of the table, but they have since lost momentum in the race for the top two.
- Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, have struggled as well—winning only three of 11 matches and occupying ninth place on the points table.
What the captains said at the toss
Speaking after the decision, Bumrah said: “We have decided to bowl first. We watched the last game and felt that as the cold weather comes in, the wicket should settle down. I didn’t think I’d be a Test captain before becoming MI captain (smiles). With as many games left as we have, we want to enjoy and try to unsettle a few teams. Surya isn’t here for personal reasons, and Allah isn’t here either.”
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer responded: “We would have bowled first as well. The surface looks a bit drier. We’re still not sure how the pitch will behave, so we’re staying positive about it. We can’t keep dwelling on what has gone wrong—we need to focus on being in good shape and maintaining a positive mindset. Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett and Azmatullah Omarzai come in.”
