Punjab Kings (PBKS) recorded a commanding seven-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (April 16) and moved to the top of the IPL 2026 points table.

Asked to bat first, the hosts racked up 195/6 on the board. Opening the innings, Quinton de Kock carried his bat to finish 112* off 60 balls, smashing 8 fours and 7 sixes. His century came off just 53 deliveries. Naman Dhir also made a notable contribution, scoring 50 off 31 balls.

Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS, returning with the figures of 3 for 22 in his four overs.

In reply, Punjab rode on half-centuries from Prabhsimran Singh (80* off 39) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (66 off 35) to overhaul the target with 21 deliveries to spare.

Speaking during the post-match presentation, Shreyas lauded his team's "phenomenal" performance, highlighting the collective effort of the squad and the importance of maintaining focus as they look forward to the rest of the tournament.

"Certainly confident and optimistic going forward. I think the way we've been playing so far, it's phenomenal. And also at the same time, you've got our heads on our shoulders. We know that each and every game that we're going to come on to the field, it's going to be important for us as a team and as a unit. So it's a collective effort overall and I'm glad that today we came up and we got that comprehensive victory," Shreyas said.

The captain was effusive in praise of Prabhsimran, with whom he shared a 139-run partnership for the third wicket.

“I think he has certainly raised up his bar, considering the last season where he was going in the power play, just swinging wild. Even though getting runs, he was giving us excellent starts. But this time I feel that, you know, he's got that maturity to finish off the game. And it's great to see youngsters coming up and finishing off the games, taking the responsibility and saying that, okay, I'm going to win the match for the team. So phenomenal player, talent, and other than that, I feel that the more matches he's getting, he's actually getting mature more and more,” Iyer stated.

Shreyas Iyer’s athletic brilliance on the field led to the dismissal of his MI counterpart Hardik Pandya, and he jested that this moment turned the tide of the game in their favour.

“I think my catch (laughs). No, but obviously, we've got this tendency of pulling back the game, even against SRH the way we bowled after the powerplay, the guys came in together and said that, okay, we are going to see to it that, negate the boundaries as much as possible and be in the present and enjoy the moment rather than thinking way ahead of the game,” he remarked.

Shreyas mentioned they hadn't finalized their batting-first approach yet due to his recent success in winning tosses and choosing to bowl, but emphasized that the team has a positive, high-energy batting lineup ready to take on the challenge.

“Honestly speaking, we haven't decided about that as of now. I've been lucky to win the tosses so far. And, you know, always up for the challenge, batting first. We've got the batting lineup and a lot of positive players in the team who are ready for the opportunity to go out there and express themselves,” he said.

Iyer expressed a focus on continuous, game-by-game improvement and concentrating on their own performance rather than the opposition, a "recipe" that has brought them success so far.

“I personally feel you need to keep getting better each and every game. Just trying to challenge yourself rather than focusing on the opponents, what they bring onto the table. And that's what we've been doing. That's the recipe we've been following so far. So yes, as long as we are going to continue with the same recipe and it gets us success, I'm very happy.”

Shreyas Iyer highlighted a noticeable increase in crowd support for the Punjab Kings and acknowledged the team's growing fanbase following their strong performances.

“Certainly, I've seen crowd coming in numbers and the way they've been cheering for the last couple of games. I think the fan-following is definitely going high and it's so good to see people coming in numbers and cheering for us, supporting and showering their love,” he concluded.