IPL 2026 SRH vs PBKS: Shreyas Iyer guides Punjab Kings to 6-wicket victory over Hyderabad

Punjab Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets after chasing down yet another target of over 200 runs. IN IPL history, this is the 10th time that Punjab have chased a target of over 200 runs, which puts them at the top of the list. Mumbai Indians with six targets of 200+ scores are second on the list.

In a game of opening pairs smashing bowlers to bits in the powerplay overs, it was Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer's measured knock of an unbeaten 69 off 33 balls that was the difference between the two sides.

For SRH, it was Abhishek Sharma (74 off 28 balls) and Travis Head (38 off 23 balls) who gave them a flying start. And in the chase for Punjab, it was Priyansh Arya (57 off 20 balls) and Prabhsimran Singh (51 off 25 balls) who propelled their start.

Shreyas Iyer heaves a ball from Malinga over the cow corner for a maximum to get to his half century in just 24 balls. The previous ball too was hit for a four at deep cover.

Iyer smashed 18 runs in that 16th over right after an 18-run 15th over.

So captain Shreyas Iyer has taken charge of the chase along with Nehal Wadhera after they lost three wickets in quick succession right after the flying start.

The duo have now seen off Shivang's spell, which was important because he's taken all three wickets today.

Punjab need 66 runs from 42 balls now

Cooper Connolly departs as Punjab lose their third wicket! Shivang had given Cooper room to smash it, and he could not time the ball perfectly, ending up skying the ball which is caught.

Cooper Connolly c Verma b Shivang Kumar 11 (12b 1x4 0x6) SR: 91.66

Punjab Kings are 128/3 after 10.2 overs.

And we will have Nehal Wadhera coming in as a Impact Sub.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have their man as Priyansh Arya departs for a 20-ball 57 while trying to heave the ball over the ropes for a six. He had just smashed the first ball of the 7th over for a six. But this one, he could not middle and was caught out on the ropes.

Now here comes Cooper Connolly, who is the man to watch out for. He joins Prabhsimran Singh, who has already scored 41 off 18 balls.

Priyansh Arya c Nitish Kumar Reddy b Shivang Kumar 57 (20b 5x4 5x6) SR: 285

Four, single, wide, single, six, four, single, dot ball in that fifth over.

Malinga has been clobbered for 28 runs in two overs!

Priyansh Arya batting on 30 (from 12 balls) while Prabhsimran Singh is on 41 (from 18). This is destructive batting, that is still in the shadow of what Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head did in the first innings.

Punjab Kings are 72/0 after 5 overs!

Mirroring the Sunrisers Hyderabad's start, Priyansh Arya (18 runs off 8 balls) and Prabhsimran Singh (22 runs off 10 balls), have given the Punjab team a jumpstart with 40 runs being scored in just 3 overs. A change of bowling in the third over, as Malinga comes in for Dubey. And that doesn't change a whole lot.

After having watched the opening exploits of Abhishek and Travis Head, Priyansh Arya has decided to show them that he can go bang bang too! he smashes 18 runs in the first over from Harsh Dubey, with two fours and a six, besides two runs on two balls.

What a start from Punjab. Prabhsimran Singh can only watch the first over from the other end.

After one over, PBKS are 18/0

When Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head were batting, the run rate for SRH was around 15. After their departure, Hyderabad have scored at a run rate of just about nine.

Bartlett, who has given 37 runs in his first three overs, is handed the ball for the last over by Shreyas Iyer. And he starts off well: giving four runs in the first two balls while bowling to the dangerous Klaasen, before a dot ball on the third that was reviewed by the Punjab keeper for a caught behind. Not given.

But Klaasen departs on the fourth ball after holing out. His day ends with 39 runs off 33 balls. Klaasen throws his bat in the air in frustration after his dismissal.

And to make matters worse, Bartlett gets a dot ball after teh dismissal.

In the final seven balls of SRH innings, they score five runs and lose two wickets. NO boundary in the final over!

SRH limp to 219/6 in their 20 overs

Oh dear! Run out after a mix up between Aniket Verma and Klassen.

The over was going really well for SRH, 12 runs in three balls when Verma and Klassen stole an single and then Verma got greedy and hared off for a second which was not there.

Klassen tried to stop him, but Verma was already next to him. Run out!

Aniket Verma run out (Stoinis/†Prabhsimran Singh) 18 (9b 1x4 1x6) SR: 200

Marco Jansen takes a brilliant catch to send back Ishan Kishan and give a first wicket to Arshdeep Singh, who was finally brought back on after the two Hyderabad openers had departed.

Kishan was looking dangerous, and his shot to long on would have flown over the ropes had it not been for the tall Jansen who gallops along the ropes and then makes the catch look effortless with a single handed pluck of the ball from thin air.

Effortless! Just a casual grab!

Just four ball before this, Kishan had tonked Arshdeep for a maximum.

Ishan Kishan c Jansen b Arshdeep Singh 27 (17b 3x4 1x6) SR: 158.82

Both SRH openers are now back in the hut as Shashank Singh picks off Abhishek Sharma three balls after he sent back Travis Head! What an over this is for Punjab Kings!

Abhishek tried to pummel Shashank over the ropes and gives a catch to the fielder.

Abhishek Sharma c Arshdeep Singh b Shashank Singh 74 (28b 5x4 8x6) SR: 264.28

What makes this over even more astonishing is that Shashank Singh apparently bowls in every third or fourth training session that Punjab have. "He doesn't usually bowl in the nets," reveals James Hope, the bowling coach of Punjab!

Dale Steyn jokes: "I think he's gotten lazy. He used to bowl in every session when he was with SRH."

The breaks being put on the freight train that was the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Yuzi Chahal manages to bowl five good balls at Travishek without conceding a single hit to the fence.

But on the final ball, Abhishek Sharma heaves the ball over the long on boundary for a maximum!

After 8 overs, SRH are 120/0

Abhishek on 74 from 27, Head on 38 from 22 balls.

Four, four, four, no ball, single, six, single

What an explosion from Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head here! They have propelled SRH to a score of 105/0 in the powerplay, the highest score in the powerplay at the venue.

This is the third best powerplay score in IPL history. Notably, all three scores have belonged to the SRH team, with the record being set with a score of 125/0 against DC in IPL 2024, and the second score being SRH's 107/0 against LSG in 2024.

After six overs, Abhishek is batting in 66 from 22 balls at a strike rate of 300! Travis Head is on 31 off 15 balls.

Here's a look at the economy rates of the four pacers Shreyas Iyer has tried so far:

Arshdeep Singh: 16.50

Bartlett: 15.50

Jansen: 16

Vyshak: 24

Marco Jansen comes in. And despite bowling a much more controlled line, he cannot prevent Travis Head hitting him for two fours and a six in the over as he ends up with 16 runs in his first over.

SRH are 60/0 after 4 overs

Bartlett comes on, and Abhishek Sharma welcomes him with a slap to the ropes straight past the bowler! Bartlett responds by pulling back the length, which earns him a bunch of boundary-free balls. But then, an off cutter from Bartlett on the fifth ball is smashed past the fielder at mid off.

Abhishek Sharma is feeling in form today!

SRH are 20/0 after 2 overs

here we go! Travishek -- Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head are out in the middle with Abhishek taking strike for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab hand the ball to Arshdeep Singh.

Shreyas Iyer wins the toss and opts to bowl first.

Two changes for SRH: Salil Arora comes in for Livingstone and Praful Hinge makes his debut

One change for Punjab: Priyansh comes in for Nehal Wadhera (who will likely be the Impact Sub when Punjab bat second)

Punjab Kings' next three games:

April 16: Mumbai Indians, Mumbai

April 19: Lucknow Super Giants, New Chandigarh

April 25: Delhi Capitals, New Delhi

Sunrisers Hyderabad next three games:

April 13: Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad

April 18: Chennai Super Kings, Hyderabad

April 26: Delhi Capitals, Hyderabad

So far the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh's Mullanpur has hosted just one IPL 2026 game. In that game, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill said that the pitch used "never looked like a 210-220 wicket".

He had also added that hitting down the ground "became harder" as the ball got older.

Lucky for fans, we will have two of the most destructive batting orders taking a crack at hitting down the ground today.

PBKS began their season with a comfortable win over Gujarat Titans at home before thrashing Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk. Their tie against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens resulted in a no-result (NR) after it was washed out due to rain. With five points from three games, PBKS are in second place, behind Rajasthan Royals.

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Cooper Connolly, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Praveen Dubey, Harpreet Brar, Ben Dwarshuis, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Vishal Nishad.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (c/wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Salil Arora, David Payne, Shivam Mavi, Zeeshan Ansari, Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar.

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