2 min readUpdated: Apr 4, 2026 12:00 AM IST
Punjab Kings knocked down a target of 210 with eight balls to spare to beat the Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Chepauk Stadium. It was CSK’s sixth consecutive defeat at home and they have now lost their first two games of the season. Conversely, PBKS have started the 2026 season with two victories.
PBKS’s chase got off to a flying start, with Priyansh Arya blazing 39 runs in just 11 balls. Arya’s blitz ensured that the opening stand between him and Prabhsimran Singh produced 61 runs in just 26 balls before he fell to Matt Henry off the second ball of the fifth over.
Prabhsimran and Cooper Connolly then picked up from where Arya left off and kept PBKS in the hunt either side of the end of the powerplay. Captain Shreyas Iyer truly freed his arms after Connolly fell in the 12th over and scored 50 in 29 balls. By the time he was dimissed by Anshul Kamboj off the last ball of the 17th over, PBKS clearly had their noses in front.
While CSK kept up hope with Henry dismissing Nehal Wadhera first ball of the next over, Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis then saw them home. Stoinis finished the chase by clubbing the fourth ball of the 19th over by Kamboj over the bowler’s head for four.
Earlier Ayush Mhatre smashed 73 off 43 balls while Sarfaraz Khan blasted 32 runs in 12 balls to set things up for CSK. Shivam Dube, who had scored just 14 runs in 14 balls at one point, then picked up to provide them with a soaring finish at the end. He was unbeaten on 45 off 27 balls as CSK finished with a score of 209/5.
Vijaykumar Vyshak was Punjab’s highest wicket-taker with two scalps. He accounted for the wickets of Mhatre and Sarfaraz. Yuzvendra Chahal, meanwhile finished with the best economy of 7.00 and took the wicket of CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.
