Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings, 68th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryLSG vs PBKS, 68th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

So what does this mean for the Punjab Kings? They're fourth at the moment, but they've played their hand. They will be knocked out if Rajasthan Royals win tomorrow. If not, here's the equation for KKR to surpass them. Win by 77 or more runs (assuming a score of 200 batting first) or chase down the target in about 12.1 to 12.4 overs (assuming the target is 201). We're into the final day of the league phase and there's still a lot to play for. Royals take on the Mumbai Indians in the afternoon game and the Kings and the Knight Riders will watch it keenly. We'll be back with all the action from tomorrow's double-header. For now, cheers and bye..

Shreyas Iyer | POTM and PBKS captain: I'm ecstatic to be honest. It's my first hundred of the season and came at the right time when the team needed it. We won eventually after six consecutive losses. It's a great positive and just hoping to support MI tomorrow. Elated by their performance (the bowlers). Even though we went 16 off the first over. Just to get the game back towards us - Azmat bowled brilliant. The first over which he bowled, getting a wicket and saving those crucial runs. Restricting them to almost 23 off four overs or 26 if I'm not wrong. It's all about momentum in this situation and just to get the game back, especially Yuzi the way he came up and restricted runs. He got the crucial wicket of Rishabh Pant. Kudos to him, he leaked a lot of runs in the last game but he showed his character. Coming up with this attitude is phenomenal. I know if I give myself some time in the middle and time the ball as much as possible rather than getting on top of the ball and trying to score off a good ball. I feel it's necessary for me to stay out there as much as possible because then the runs keep coming. Prabh - the way he took on the bowlers, it takes two to tango. He seriously showed us what he's capable of. He was temperamentally active and the communication we had in the middle was sensational. Good to see the strokes that he played. It's a surreal feeling when you finish off the game and score a century. All the batsmen dream of that. Today was one of those days when I personally felt super. Super from within. I was in a great mindspace. I knew what I wanted, knew how the wicket was playing. Kinda reading the situation and how the wicket was playing helped me to score my runs and the partnership was crucial. That creates the momentum in the game and just to win it from there, I'm seriously elated. We didn't say anything (message to the team), just kept it simple. Rather than having meetings, putting more pressure on the boys. You kinda get lost in the previous losses when you discuss a lot. It's important that you let them be. Free-flow of mind is required in crucial matches. You don't want to make them overthink in pressure situations. Today I literally told Ricky that let's not do any team meetings. Let's just head to the ground and do our rituals which we've been doing consistently and we could see the result.

Shreyas Iyer (101*) became the third PBKS captain to hit a century after KL Rahul (132* vs RCB, 2020) and Adam Gilchrist (106 vs RCB, 2011).

Century by captains in IPL chases
119 - Virender Sehwag vs Deccan, 2011
108* - Virat Kohli vs RPS, 2016
119 - Sanju Samson vs PBKS, 2021
101* - Shreyas Iyer vs LSG, 2026*

Longest losing streaks for PBKS in the IPL
7 in 2015
6 in 2026 – ended today
5 in 2011
5 in 2018
5 in 2020

PBKS have now won all four games against LSG since 2025, and this is their third win in 4 games at Lucknow.

Highest target successfully chased by PBKS (since 2025)
265 vs DC, Delhi, 2026 – Shreyas 61*(30)
220 vs SRH, Mullanpur, 2026 – Shreyas 69*(33)
210 vs CSK, Chennai, 2026 – Shreyas 50(29)
204 vs MI, Ahmedabad, 2025 – Shreyas 87*(41)
197 vs LSG, Lucknow, 2026 – Shreyas 101*(51)**
196 vs MI, Wankhdede, 2026 – Shreyas 65(35)
191 vs CSK, Chennai, 2025 – Shreyas 72 (41)

PBKS in IPL 2026
Batting 1st: Mat 5 | Won 1 | Lost 4
Batting 2nd: Mat 9 | Won 6 | Lost 2 | NR 1

LSG at Lucknow since 2025
Mats: 14
Won: 4
Lost: 10
Win%: 28.57

Shreyas Iyer in successful chases in IPL since 2024
Inns: 16
Runs: 793
Avg: 158.6
SR: 178.2
100s/50s: 1/8
4s/6s: 59/51

Scoring 200+ most times in an IPL season
9 - SRH in 2026
9 - PBKS in 2026*
8 - GT in 2025
8 - PBKS in 2025
8 - RCB in 2026

Most individual centuries in an IPL Season
14 in IPL 2026*
14 in IPL 2024
12 in IPL 2023
9 in IPL 2025
8 in IPL 2022

Ponting | PBKS coach: We've done it the hard way, let's put it that way. We've done what we needed to do today. Sloppy in the field again, gave them 20 more runs than what they should've got. Pretty clinical chase, especially being in trouble early. The captain, he's done that all season. When there's been a run chase on like that, he's pretty much everytime put his hand up and got the job done. That's his first IPL century tonight. We'll celebrate that and then we'll sit around and wait for those results tomorrow. There's a reason I spent as much money at the auction as I did a couple of years ago (on Iyer). He's a ripping guy, very mature player now, very mature leader. More often than not keeps his emotions in check on the field. The respect he has from his players is second to none. The moment he stands in front of the group and speaks, not a single eyeball leaves a single word he says. Delighted to work with him. Really happy on the season he's had. Great to see him back in the Indian one day team. I really think there's a bigger, brighter future for him in the Indian T20 team as well. The level of cricket we played in the first half was a level I've never seen before. And then we just made some crucial errors at different times in the last six games. Today was a whole lot better. Terrific player (Prabhsimran). It's probably only been the last couple of years that he himself has realised how good he is. Him and Priyansh have been outstanding for us the last couple of seasons. Prabh's been rewarded as well with some India A selection which is fantastic recognition for him. Seeing him play a mature innings tonight in a good run chase will do him a world of good. We've got a pretty good team room here. We'll try to get the boys together and watch it (the RR-MI game). I haven't got many fingernails left. By tomorrow afternoon, they could be a whole lot shorter.

Pant | LSG captain: Initial thoughts are - it's a tough one. Still have to bite the bullet regardless of anything. Gonna keep our head high. There has been a lot of learning regardless of good or bad. Definitely a tough season for us as a team for sure. Always you can get 5-10 runs more but I think there was enough on the total. But at the same time it's harder because in the second innings at Ekana the wicket gets better to bat on all the time. That's why everyone wants to field first. Want to look at the positives as a team. Josh has come in and played a brilliant knock. Mitch is not here - he has done really well for us. Bowling - Prince has had an amazing season. Last few games he's been here and there but he had a terrific season, got an Indian call. Mohsin coming back from injury. Definitely a lot of positives. Especially Shami bhai, the way he has kept that fast bowling unit together has been wonderful to see. Sometimes idea without accountability is the harder thing to do. At the same time you gotta keep focussing on the right thing and be on the right path regardless of good and bad. You accept everything and move on from it. It's been a long season but at the same time, just keeping our head high and we promise to come back stronger next year regardless of anything.

23:09 Local Time, 17:39 GMT: That was a clinical chase from Punjab Kings and the innings revolved around their skipper Shreyas Iyer. In a must-win encounter, he led from the front in every sense. Things could not have started worse for Punjab. Priyansh Arya fell first ball of the innings and Cooper Connolly too departed early, leaving them struggling at 22 for 2 in a chase of 196. That’s when Iyer walked out and completely changed the mood of the innings. He brought calmness, control and composure to the crease. Alongside Prabhsimran Singh - who survived an early chance after being dropped on 20 by Rishabh Pant - he steadily rebuilt the chase. The pair kept the scoreboard moving, finding boundaries consistently and stitching together a superb 100+ partnership for the third wicket. Both batters reached their respective milestones and gradually took the game away from Lucknow Super Giants. When Prabhsimran eventually departed with 35 still required, Iyer simply shifted gears again. He took apart Shami with three sixes and fittingly sealed the chase with another maximum, bringing up his maiden IPL hundred in style. It was very much a “cometh the hour, cometh the man” innings. There were shades of the knock he played in Qualifier 2 last season - perhaps not quite as high-pressure tonight, but once again he was there at the finish line taking his side home. For LSG, 196 was probably around par on this surface. But with only five regular bowling options, they simply lacked the depth and flexibility to defend it. The defeat also confirms that LSG will finish with the wooden spoon this season. Post-match stuff coming up..