IPL 2026: Shreyas Iyer, Priyansh Arya shine as Punjab Kings romp home in 210 chase vs CSK

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.

Mhatre impresses for CSKCSK, though, will take heart from the batting show of their youngster Ayush Mhatre. The U-19 World Cupwinning skipper powered his way to 73 (43 balls; 6x4, 5x6) as CSK reached a competitive 209/5 after big-ticket signing Sanju Samson failed again. Mhatre, walking in at No. 3 after a first-ball duck in the previous match against RR, was on fire.He smacked Punjab pacer Xavier Bartlett for three successive boundaries off the front foot and right after the Powerplay, launched into lanky left-arm pacer Marco Jansen, hitting two towering sixes.

While he was cautious against spin, the youngster used the pace of Punjab quicks to keep the boundaries flowing. Ayush brought up his halfcentury with a drive off Marcus Stoinis. At the other end, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad played second fiddle, content to watch Ayush’s fireworks as the pair stitched together a 96-run stand for the second wicket.Ayush, dropped twice on 59 and 67, might have liked to carry on, but medium-pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak finally removed him, caught at short third-man by Chahal.