Punjab Kings And IPL Playoffs: A Look Back At PBKS’ Title Runs In Indian Premier League

Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 69 secured a top-two finish in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for Shreyas Iyer’s side. It was a landmark win for PBKS, as it marked only their third appearance in the IPL playoffs.

In 18 seasons of IPL, Punjab Kings have been one of the perennial underperformers, being one of the only three original franchises to never lift the trophy. In fact, they have made the playoffs just twice before this, culminating in just one final appearance.

Interestingly, both occasions happened while the team was named “Kings XI Punjab”, before their 2021 rebranding.

Before Punjab Kings find out their competitor in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025, let’s go down memory lane and revisit the two times Preity Zinta’s franchise mounted a title run.

IPL 2008 – Semi-Finals

Punjab Kings’ first foray into the Indian Premier League playoffs came right back in the inaugural season. Under the captaincy of the mercurial Yuvraj Singh, Kings XI Punjab finished in second place in group stage with 20 points behind eventual champions Rajasthan Royals (RR).

This was due to some terrific batting from Kumar Sangakkara and Orange Cap winner Shaun Marsh, who lifted the team out of their two-match losing streak at the start of the season. The team went on to win nine of their next 10 games, eventually securing a semi-final place.

Back then, IPL used a straight knockout system with no added advantage for the top two teams. So, PBKS faced Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the semi-final and was decimated in a nine-wicket loss, failing to defend a meagre total of 112, and was knocked out of the tournament.

IPL 2014 – Finalists

This will be a hard one to swallow for PBKS fans. The Kings were by far the best team in the league that year, finishing the group stage top of the table with 11 wins in 14 matches, leaving behind Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by four points in second place.

The season was the first one to be held outside India, and the team used the conditions in the UAE to their utmost benefit. Australia’s T20I captain, George Bailey, a new signing for Punjab that season, was the shining light, leading them to a five-match winning streak, with Glenn Maxwell scoring 279 runs in the first three games.

Other new signings like Virender Sehwag and Mitchell Johnson were effective as well, and despite a hiccup in the first qualifier against KKR, they dispatched CSK in Qualifier 2 to secure their final place.

In the final match against KKR, it was Kolkata boy Wriddhiman Saha who was the hero for Punjab, scoring 115 runs off 55 balls in one of the most memorable knocks in IPL history. It was to be in vain, though, as Manish Pandey (94 off 50) scripted a terrific comeback for the Knight Riders to secure a three-wicket win, chasing down 200.

Punjab Kings had a few close calls as well, notably missing out on the playoffs in IPL 2012 due to net run rate issues, but to date, these two instances are the only times they have made an appearance in the knockout stages.

That is, until 29 May, when PBKS will take the field at Mullanpur, Chandigarh, in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025.