Punjab Kings arrived in this IPL season with the sting of last year’s final still fresh, and captain Shreyas Iyer admitted that turning that ambition into a title challenge “will take a lot of effort.” On Saturday in Mullanpur, PBKS looked close to that hungry brand of cricket as Shreyas struck an unbeaten 69 off 33 balls to steer his side to a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, successfully chasing a daunting 220.
PBKS chase: how the 220 was finally handled
- PBKS won the toss and chose to field first, but Sunrisers made a flying start through Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head.
- Sharma and Head piled on 120 runs together in only 8.1 overs, putting Hyderabad on course for a massive total.
- Just when the chase looked set to become a formality, Shashank Singh struck back by dismissing both Head and Abhishek in the same over.
- In the chase, PBKS openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh laid a platform with a blistering 99-run partnership, giving the innings the momentum it needed against a 220 target.
- With the foundations already in place, Shreyas Iyer stayed composed under the pressure of the run-rate and finished unbeaten on 69 off 33 deliveries.
- PBKS ultimately reached the target and won by six wickets, making Hyderabad’s 220 look manageable in the end.
At the presentation ceremony, Shreyas pointed to the importance of being “in the present” after coming so close to lifting the trophy last year, and said this campaign’s focus is on converting opportunities into silverware. He also praised PBKS’ approach of trusting the process, stressing that chasing such totals demands the right mindset.
Shreyas on the chase and the role of the openers
As Player of the Match, Shreyas highlighted how the opening pair’s explosive powerplay work shaped the rest of the innings. He said that when you are chasing 220, you need a strong start, and that maintaining momentum once it begins is not easy. He added that after he gauged how the pitch was playing, he was able to settle into the rhythm necessary to keep the chase under control.
He also explained the captaincy thinking behind the key phase after SRH’s early burst. When asked about what he decided after Hyderabad’s rapid start, Shreyas said that Shashank approached him for an over, and that he backed the move because he needed someone to take the pace off, trusting the plan to create pressure at the right time.
Shreyas further noted that Priyansh and Prabhsimran should be allowed full freedom at the top. According to him, openers who set the platform from the first ball make it easier for the middle order to rotate strike and keep up with the run-rate, while also benefiting from the team’s overall work ethic.
SRH perspective: Ishan Kishan on what went wrong
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Ishan Kishan, wearing a disappointed expression after the loss, acknowledged that his side could have posted more after the bright start built by Abhishek and Head. He also admitted that execution let them down, a crucial factor in T20 cricket where effective delivery of your best balls often decides the outcome.
Kishan said they were capable of finishing with a total around 250 given how the innings began, but recognized that 220 still remained a strong score. He described the chase as easier for PBKS once the batting rhythm was established, and suggested that in modern T20s there is less need to over-plan—batters mainly act according to where they are hitting well.
Reflecting on the bigger lesson, Kishan added that when teams fail to execute their plans, they end up leaking runs, giving away 10 to 20 extra runs that can be decisive at the business end of an IPL chase.
