IPL 2026: Shreyas Iyer, Priyansh Arya shine as Punjab Kings romp home in 210 chase vs CSK
Punjab Kings secured their second consecutive IPL victory by successfully chasing down 210 against Chennai Super Kings. Priyansh Arya's explosive start and contributions from Prabhsimran Singh, Cooper Connolly, and Shreyas Iyer powered the chase. For CSK, youngster Ayush Mhatre impressed with a fiery 73, but it wasn't enough to secure a win.
CHENNAI: It’s just two games into the IPL but Punjab Kings are exuding the swag of a top side. A chase of 210 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against Chennai Super Kings is not easy business but Punjab achieved it in style on Friday to make it two wins on the bounce. They looked a complete side too, starting from the openers to the middle-order to the finishers.
The bowlers did their bit in the first innings as Yuzvendra Chahal (1-21) dished out a superb spell of leg-spin bowling that kept CSK in check. Priyansh Arya, one of the shining stars of last IPL, showed again why he is so highly rated in the circuit. Opening the Punjab innings with Prabhsimran Singh, the Delhi cricketer timed the ball beautifully and smashed Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj to all corners of the park.
The left-hander’s 39 off 11 balls helped Punjab race away to 61 off four overs, virtually killing off the game. Arya did get bowled by Henry trying a big shot in the fifth over but his opening partner Prabhsimran (43 off 34 balls), along with Cooper Connolly (36 off 22 balls), kept up the good work. The beauty of the big chase was that there was no panic whatsover even when Prabhsimran was run out.
Connolly, and later Shreyas Iyer (50 off 28 balls), didn’t allow the momentum to take a hit. The big shots kept flowing as Punjab notched up the required runs in 18. 3 overs.