Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 17th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryPBKS vs SRH, 17th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

Three successful run-chases for Punjab Kings and they remain second on the points table. Their top four batters in tremendous touch and PBKS have all the bases covered. SRH, meanwhile, have posted 200+ totals thrice this season but have managed to win only one. They ended up on the wrong side today despite the Travishek show in the powerplay. They need to find a way to strengthen their bowling. That's it from this game. Switch tabs to follow the DC v CSK game. See you there...

Shreyas Iyer | PBKS captain and Player of the Match: "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 and then it was kind of, 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. (on his thoughts when SRH's openers were going) 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. (how confident were they going into the chase?) 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. (how pleased are you with the ways the things are going?) 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."

Brad Haddin | PBKS assistant coach: "Well, I'm glad I'm not a bowler in the first six overs. That's for sure. I'd say everyone got their money's worth tonight. It was entertainment. But I think the one thing we did really well after those first six overs, we stayed calm, and we got the game back, a little bit of momentum back in those middle overs. And having a look at both sides, the way they played in those middle overs, that's where it was won. (on the chat in the timeout) Well, that's exactly what Ricky spoke to the players about. They know their plans and just to stay calm. You might be moving your feet quickly on the inside and things might be bubbling up, but just stay calm, you know your plans, just execute those. And if you get one chance, then we jump on the game and try to pull it back, which we did in those middle overs. (do you work on these batters?) Mate, Danny, that's out of my league. It's interesting in the batter's meeting when you talk about rotating the strike, they say, we don't need to do that anymore. We just put it in the second tier. So, it's been some phenomenal hitting right through the tournament, but I've never seen the first six overs of the game as brutal as we've seen tonight. I think it's what you said there, that they need to keep the courage and be brave in those first six overs. And we're really clear with our guys about taking wickets. If you let the batters just play out the six overs, you're going to get results like we got tonight in those first six from both teams. But our bowlers have been really good about talking about ways to get wickets in those first six overs. We've seen that against the game in Calcutta where we got Finn and Green early. But yeah, the key is to making sure they're really clear with their plans, but their mindset's about getting wickets, not being defensive. (from a bowling perspective, what is the plan?) Well, you know what the batters are trying to do in those first six overs. They're trying to hit the ball as far as they can out of the ground and take advantage of that new ball. If there's some way that you can turn the momentum back a little bit with your team, maybe with your mindset about being brave, looking to take wickets, all of a sudden you can control the game from there. But yeah, it's brutal. Absolutely brutal. (pleased with the results?) Yeah I think the pleasing thing at the moment, we probably haven't played our best game. We haven't put everything together. We're getting the results we're after. As the tournament goes on, you want to be playing your best cricket. And that's what we're speaking to the team about, making sure when we get to the back-end of the tournament, we're putting all three phases of the game together. And that's slowly starting to come together now."

Ishan Kishan | SRH captain: "I think in the middle, we could have ended up with a total of 250 at least the way we got started. But, the things happen. We did not end up getting those runs. But at the same time, they did actually bat well in the beginning and they also had the powerplay on their side. But at the same time, I feel we were not so good with the execution. Like I said earlier, in T20 cricket, the most important thing is execution of your good balls. So we were not that great today. (what was par on that?) Par, to be very honest, I thought 219 was a good total anyway because we started in a very good manner, we thought we could end up getting 240. But I think 219 was a very good total, especially having six or seven bowlers in your side who can bowl. We need to just, you know, understand the batters, how they're going to bat, what they're going to do. But I think we were lacking at that point of time. And that showed in their batting that it was pretty easier for them to score runs in the end. (discussions as skipper with your bowlers) I think in today's cricket, you don't have to plan much. You just do it before the game. You know which batter is used to hitting where. You just know which areas if one side was longer, we were trying to use that boundary. But like I said earlier, when you don't execute balls, you have nothing and you just end up giving those 10-20 runs in every over. So it also depends on how they bat and they were pretty good tonight. (200 isn't a safe number anymore?) No, to be very honest, we don't think so much. Like I said, it's very simple cricket. You know, you go into bat, you score runs. Your bowlers have a total. You try to defend it. But at the same time, if you don't bowl in the right areas, if you're not planning properly, then you can't stop runs in the middle. So, yeah, it all depends on your planning and execution, to be very honest."

Shreyas Iyer in successful IPL chases since 2024
Inns: 13
Runs: 555
Avg: 138.75
SR: 171.82
50s: 6

Shreyas Iyer at this venue in the IPL
Before today: 6 inns, 45 runs at 7.5, SR: 118.42
Today: 69(33), SR: 209.09

Pace vs spin for SRH
Pace: 0/145 in 10 overs, ER: 14.5
Spin: 4/78 in 8.5 overs, ER: 8.83

Teams chasing down 200-plus targets most often (IPL)
10 - PBKS
6 - MI
5 - RR
4 - SRH
4 - RCB
The next most for any team in Men’s T20s is seven by Australia.

Highest targets chased down by PBKS
262 vs KKR, Kolkata, 2024
220 vs SRH, Mullanpur, 2026
210 vs CSK, Chennai, 2026
206 vs CSK, Abu Dhabi, 2014
206 vs SRH, Hyderabad, 2014
206 vs RCB, Mumbai DYP, 2022
Prev highest vs SRH: 206 by PBKS (Hyderabad, 2014)

19:13 IST, 13:43 GMT: Punjab Kings have successfully chased down a 200+ target for the 10th time. After opting to bowl, they looked bewildered when Abhishek Sharma's 18-ball fifty powered SRH to 105/0 in the powerplay. Shashank Singh removed both the openers in the same over and the Kings staged an excellent comeback with the ball to keep SRH's total down to 219. In reply, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh almost replicated what Travishek did. The hosts scored 93 in the powerplay and both the openers raised their respective fifties. There was a slight stutter as they lost three wickets to Shivang Kumar. At 128/3 in the 11th over, SRH would have hoped they still had a chance to defend their total. But captain Shreyas Iyer had other ideas. The captain played a fine knock and was in total control of the proceedings. He hit boundaries at regular intervals, struck at 200+ strike rate and remained unbeaten till the end. Shashank, who picked two crucial wickets in the first innings, fittingly hit the winning runs.

Punjab Kings are just one hit away from winning this