Punjab Kings (PBKS) registered a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a high-scoring IPL 2026 fixture at Mullanpur on Saturday (April 11).

Invited to bat first, SRH racked up a formidable 219/6 on the board, thanks to Abhishek Sharma’s 28-ball 74. Abhishek, who hammered five fours and eight sixes, shared a 120-run stand with opening partner Travis Head (38 off 23).

In reply, the opening duo of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh laid the foundation of a successful chase with a 99-run partnership in just 6.2 overs. After their dismissals, Shreyas Iyer produced a captain’s knock of 69* in just 33 balls to take PBKS over the line with seven deliveries to spare.

After the win, Iyer lauded the effort of his openers to pull off stiff chase. "Firstly I would like to say that we have got a phenomenal start, when you are chasing 220, you need such starts and the way they showed how to play powerplay, it was magnificent to watch. And it was pleasing to the eye, it was proper cricketing shots and they steadied the rhythm at the start," he said at the post-match presentation.

“I wouldn't say easy, but just to maintain that momentum, especially going in, I just said that I have to give myself a little bit of time in between and once I gauge the pace of the wicket, I'll be able to capitalise on it. And thankfully it worked out,” Iyer added.

SRH openers amassed 105 runs in the powerplay. Shashank Singh dismissed both Abhishek and Head in the same over to bring PBKS back in the contest.

Asked what was the thinking after SRH's blazing start, Shreyas said, “All of us came together and Shashank while we were coming in, he approached me and he was like, give me an over, you see how I'll be bowling and I have come with a certain plan. So Ricky came and asked me, what's your thought? I said that I'm going to go with Shashank because I need someone who bowls at around 120. I need to take the pace off of these two batsmen because they were going bonkers.”

“And yeah, he lived up to his expectation and whatever he said that I'll be taking a wicket, he did that. So kudos to him and his thought-process and also other bowlers, the way they came back, it was phenomenal and that shows the character and attitude our team possesses. So yeah, we want to maintain the same rhythm going forward.”

Shreyas Iyer emphasized that while his team possesses the required skills, pulling off a 200+ run chase demands an incredibly strong and unwavering mental approach.

He noted that the team's opening batsmen have been in such great form that the management does not need to give them rigid instructions or force them to curb their natural attacking instincts.

“You see, at the end of the day, all of us know that we've got the skills. And at the back of the mind, it's important that you need to have a strong mindset, especially when you go for such chases. Openers, we don't need to tell them how to go about it. But since they've been flowing throughout, right from the start, I don't think that they need to curb their instincts. And others, I feel that... such platform which they set right from ball one, it's easy for us to go out and basically rotate strike and see to it that we go according to the run-rate. So, I personally feel that overall if you see, we've been magnificent with our work ethics and also the two days break which we got. I think all the players, they came in together, they trained, they worked their body off. So, yeah, I'm very ecstatic at this moment because the work, you can see it deliver on the field,” he remarked.

Having led PBKS to the final last year, Shreyas Iyer highlighted the importance of staying in the present and also praised head coach Ricky Ponting for instilling a disciplined, present-focused mindset in the team.

“See, I keep reiterating every now and then that you need to be in the present. You can't think much about what's happened and what's going to happen. So, I personally feel Ricky also takes a lot of importance in this aspect and it basically signifies the character of our team. So, even last year, we came so close to winning the trophy, but this is that year where we are basically eyeing on the trophy and we want to lift it, but it's going to take hard work, process and a lot of efforts by every individual to see to it that they envision lifting the trophy,” he concluded.