PBKS beat LSG by seven wickets in their do-or-die encounter
Shreyas Iyer smashed his maiden IPL century
PBKS are still alive in the playoff race but would need other teams' results to go in their favour
Punjab Kings kept their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoff hopes alive with a commanding seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on Friday night.
Chasing a challenging target of 200, PBKS produced one of their best batting displays of the season, reaching 200/3 in just 18 overs to end a painful six-match losing streak. The win moved Punjab back into qualification contention heading into the final round of league matches, while Lucknow Super Giants officially bowed out of the playoff race.
Captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a sensational unbeaten 101 off just 51 balls, sealing the win with a massive six over cow corner to bring up his maiden IPL century.
Earlier in the evening, Lucknow Super Giants posted a competitive total after strong contributions from Josh Inglis and the middle order. Inglis continued his excellent form with a composed half-century, scoring 58 off 33 deliveries and attacking both pace and spin confidently.
LSG maintained a healthy scoring rate throughout the innings, with late contributions helping them finish close to the 200-run mark. However, Punjab’s bowlers managed to prevent the innings from completely exploding in the death overs despite difficult batting conditions at the Ekana surface.
Punjab Kings began the chase aggressively and never allowed the required rate to become an issue. Prabhsimran Singh played a crucial role at the top with a blistering 69 off just 39 balls, smashing seven boundaries and two sixes.
His partnership with Shreyas Iyer completely shifted the momentum toward PBKS, with the duo attacking almost every LSG bowler. Even after Arjun Tendulkar trapped Prabhsimran lbw in the 15th over, Punjab remained firmly in control as Iyer continued to dominate the chase with clean hitting and calm game awareness.
The result has dramatically improved Punjab Kings’ playoff chances, keeping them alive in the race for a top-four finish ahead of the final league-stage fixtures. For Lucknow Super Giants, meanwhile, another disappointing bowling performance summed up a frustrating campaign. Despite moments of promise from younger players like Arjun Tendulkar and Josh Inglis, LSG once again struggled to defend a strong total under pressure as their IPL 2026 season officially came to an end.
IPL 2026 Updated Points Table After Match 68
| Position | Team | P | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | RCB (Q) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.783 |
| 2 | GT (Q) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.695 |
| 3 | SRH (Q) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.524 |
| 4 | PBKS | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 0.309 |
| 5 | RR | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0.083 |
| 6 | KKR | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 0.011 |
| 7 | CSK (E) | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | -0.345 |
| 8 | DC (E) | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 12 | -0.871 |
| 9 | MI (E) | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 8 | -0.51 |
| 10 | LSG (E) | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | -0.74 |
LSG Vs PBKS, IPL 2026: Toss Update
Punjab Kings have won the toss and elected to bowl first in Lucknow.
LSG Vs PBKS, IPL 2026: Playing XIs
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Josh Inglis, Arshin Kulkarni, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Arjun Tendulkar, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
LSG Vs PBKS, IPL 2026: Start Time, Streaming
The match 68 of IPL 2026 between Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network in India and will also be streamed on the Jio Hotstar app. The live action will begin from 7:30pm IST.
IPL 2026 Playoff Fixtures
Qualifier 1: Dharamsala, May 26
Eliminator: New Chandigarh, May 27
Qualifier 2: New Chandigarh, May 29
Final: Ahmedabad, May 31
