From 120/0 in 8 Overs to 219 — Then Chased in 18.5: How Shreyas Iyer Turned the Match on Its Head at Mullanpur

The numbers on the scoreboard at the end — Punjab Kings 223/4 in 18.5 overs — looked like a comfortable win. But anyone who watched all 40 overs at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday knows this match was anything but comfortable for the first 40 minutes.

Abhishek and Head Turn the Ground into a Slog Overs Over

Abhishek Sharma was on a different planet in that first powerplay. He launched Arshdeep Singh — one of the most disciplined T20 openers in world cricket — for 24 in the very first over. Two fours, two sixes, including a straight drive over the sight screen and a top-edge that sailed over third man.

Marco Jansen took the new ball from the other end and bled 16 in his opening over. SRH were 60/0 in four overs — the best powerplay start by any team at Mullanpur this season.

Abhishek brought up his fifty off just 18 balls — a six over long-on off a Vyshak Vijaykumar slower ball — and two balls later flicked another low full toss over long-on to cap a 24-run over. SRH were 84/0 after five overs. The game, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be over.

Travis Head was not just a spectator either. He hit three consecutive boundaries off Bartlett and then helped bring SRH to 100 inside the powerplay with Abhishek. Their stand was worth 120 in 8.1 overs — pure carnage.

The Captaincy Moment That Changed the Match

When every front-line bowler was being taken apart, Shreyas Iyer did something that defined the match.

“All of us came together, and Shashank approached me — give me an over. Ricky came and asked me, what’s your thought? I said I’ll go with Shashank — I need someone to take the pace off.”

Shashank Singh bowled one over and took two wickets — Head caught at long-on, Abhishek caught by Arshdeep after slashing a fuller ball that stopped on him. The mood at Mullanpur changed in the space of six balls. Yuzvendra Chahal tightened the screws at the other end — three runs off his first five balls in one over, nine runs in another — and SRH, 120/0 at the start of the ninth over, finished at 219/6. Xavier Bartlett’s final over — five runs — was the exclamation mark on a brilliant bowling comeback.

99 in the Powerplay and a Chase That Was Never in Doubt

PBKS needed 220 in 20 overs and Harsh Dubey gave away 18 in the very first ball of the reply — Priyansh Arya announcing the partnership’s intentions with two fours and a six.

Prabhsimran Singh picked up from the other end. Eshan Malinga conceded 17 in his first over. Jaydev Unadkat leaked two sixes to Prabhsimran. By the end of the powerplay, PBKS were 93/0 — six runs short of what SRH had scored — and the target was already looking achievable.

Then Priyansh hammered Harshal Patel for 6, 6, 4, 4 in one over and reached his fifty off 16 balls. He finished with 57 off 20. Prabhsimran made 51 off 25. Their 99-run stand is the highest opening partnership of IPL 2026 so far.

Shivang Kumar gave SRH a brief window — three wickets in the middle — but Shreyas Iyer closed the door with 69 off 33, playing the innings of a champion finisher.

Match Scorecard

SRH: 219/6 (20 overs)

Bowling: Shashank Singh 2/20, Arshdeep Singh 1/xx, Bartlett 1/42

PBKS: 223/4 (18.5 overs)

Bowling: Shivang Kumar 3/xx

Result: Punjab Kings won by 6 wickets