The Trophy Is Not Won Yet — Shreyas Iyer's Warning to Punjab Kings After Their Most Complete Performance of IPL 2026

Punjab Kings have made the most explosive start of any team in IPL 2026 — three wins, a first-ever 200-plus chase record, and a captain playing the best T20 cricket of his career. And yet, the most revealing thing Shreyas Iyer said on Saturday evening at Mullanpur was a reminder that the trophy won’t win itself.

“It Will Take a Lot of Effort to Envision That”

PBKS reached the IPL 2025 final for the first time in franchise history and lost to RCB by six runs in Ahmedabad — the closest Punjab had ever come to their maiden title in 18 years of trying. Saturday’s win over SRH extended their winning run and confirmed that the hunger has not faded.

But Shreyas Iyer — Player of the Match — refused to let the euphoria run away.

“They’re delivering on the field. I keep reiterating every now and then — you have to be in the present. Ricky also takes a lot of importance in this aspect. Even last year, we came so close to winning the trophy. This year, we want to lift it. It will take a lot of effort to envision that.”

Coach Ricky Ponting’s fingerprints are visible in that mindset — match-by-match, task-by-task, never letting the group get ahead of themselves. Shreyas is clearly his captain on the field in the truest sense of the phrase.

The Match: How a Flawless Day Was Built

SRH won the toss and chose to bat — and for three overs, it looked like the decision of the tournament. Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head added 120 runs in 8.1 overs, Abhishek’s 74 off 28 balls — eight sixes, five fours — the most brutal innings played at Mullanpur this season.

Then Shreyas made a move that changed 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 Head and Abhishek in the same over. SRH went from looking like a 250-plus side to finishing at 219/6.

“He lived up to his expectations, he lived up to what he said — kudos to him.”

The Chase: Arya and Prabhsimran Are Changing What’s Possible

PBKS reached 50 in 3.3 overs. They reached 99 in the powerplay, all off the bat of their opening pair. When both fell, Shreyas took over — timing his entry perfectly at No. 4 and building towards the target with calm authority.

“Firstly, we’ve got a phenomenal start. When you’re chasing 220, you need that start. Pleasing to the eye, proper cricketing shots. Steadied the rhythm at the start. Not easy, but maintaining that momentum — I needed to give myself time. Once I gauged the pace of the pitch…”

On his openers’ philosophy.

“Openers have been flowing throughout — they don’t need to curb their instincts. Others, who set their platforms from ball one — it’s easy for us to rotate strike and go according to run rate. Overall, we’ve been magnificent with our work ethic. All players worked their… bodies off.”

Ishan Kishan’s Honest Verdict on SRH’s Collapse

SRH captain Ishan Kishan — playing his first IPL season for Sunrisers after a stunning Rs 24 crore auction — did not look for excuses after the game.

“We could have ended with a total of 250, the way we started. At the same time, we were not so good with the execution. In T20 cricket, the most important thing is the execution of your good balls.”

“190 is a par score here, we could have had 240. But 220 was a great total. We had six or seven bowlers. It showed in their batting that it was easier scoring runs for them. When you don’t execute balls, you have nothing — you just end up giving 10-20 runs.”

The self-assessment is accurate but also damning — 31 runs left on the table in the batting phase, and 31 runs too many conceded in the bowling phase.

IPL 2026 Standings Snapshot