The Punjab Kings defeated the Chennai Super Kings by five wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, thanks to skipper Shreyas Iyer’s fifty and Priyansh Arya’s opening blitz of 39 runs off 11 balls, giving them their second victory in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

With a strong beginning that set the tone for the Punjab Kings’ pursuit of 210 against the Chennai Super Kings, Priyansh Arya kicked off the chase. Arya, who was brought in as a replacement, made his goals plain.

From the start, he went after Khaleel Ahmed. His entrance was distinguished by a forceful six over midwicket and a sharp, direct four. Although Khaleel was able to make some progress against Prabhsimran Singh, he nonetheless allowed 14 runs in the opening over.

Arya assaulted Matt Henry in the second over, scoring 4, 6, and 4 to get 25 runs in only six deliveries. There was no respite. Arya had already accumulated 27 runs off eight balls, easily locating the boundary, when PBKS reached their fifty in an amazing 3. 2 overs. This was a daring and contemporary approach to T20.

He went all out in the power play to take control of the chase after seeing a target of more than 200. Even if his 39 off 11 at a strike rate of 355 wasn’t enough to win the game on its own, it did show what it means to be an aggressive opener in modern cricket: deal as much damage as possible early on and set a foundation.

Prabhsimran maintained the momentum on the other end, but CSK attempted to seize control by introducing Noor Ahmad as an impact bowler and Rahul Chahar as a spin bowler. But PBKS continued to press, with Cooper Connolly displaying intent against spin.

But at a crucial moment, when Shreyas Iyer strode confidently to the crease with a chance to score, a pricey error on a low-risk second call cost PBKS their momentum. Sarfaraz Khan made a superb backup play and tossed a precise throw to the non-striker’s end to get Prabhsimran (43) out after Connolly brought him back, while Noor Ahmad raced from midwicket to intercept the ball.

From a full toss that he was unable to fully get beyond mid-off, Conolly holed out. He will regret that lost opportunity throughout the lengthy journey home. Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera are still at the crease for PBKS, who need 83 runs off 49 balls to stabilize the chase.

In contrast, CSK’s spin options are few. They are ahead of Rahul Chahar by two and Noor Ahmad by one. Following that, it will be the pacers’ responsibility to complete the task since they have been giving up runs throughout the night.

Chennai Super Kings scored 209/5 thanks to late cameos from Sarfaraz Khan (32 off 12) and Shivam Dube (45 off 27), who were accompanied by Ayush Mhatre’s outstanding 73 off 43.

Sanju Samson (7) once again succumbed early in CSK’s innings, highlighting his difficulties with movement. In the face of the early setbacks, Mhatre took command, demonstrating excellent intent and readiness, particularly against short pitches.

After perfecting his pull shot, he went on to defeat the pacers, hitting five sixes and four fours to reach 59 off 32 balls in nine overs.

Despite Mhatre’s dominance, Ruturaj Gaikwad (28 off 22) had trouble getting things moving, and he fell at a moment when CSK needed it most. Despite the Power-play, Mhatre persisted in setting the agenda by deftly using clever positioning and rapid modifications to combat the wide yorker plan.

His termination turned out to be a pivotal moment. Mhatre had scored 73 of those runs—almost 60%—at 123, demonstrating CSK’s excessive reliance on him, as the remainder of the batting lineup only managed to score 38 runs off 32 balls, with 12 extras.

Then, with an imaginative cameo using ramps and skillful touches to combat pace and yorkers, Sarfaraz injected late momentum, hitting at 266. Despite his early challenges, Dube persevered and maintained a calm, unbroken 45 to anchor the death overs.

With 209/5, CSK also recorded their first 200-plus score at Chepauk since April 2024, indicating a comeback to their prolific run-scoring peak.

Shreyas Iyer maintained perfect composure during his innings, seamlessly switching between 4 off 5 and 50 off 26. As the captain of the PBKS, he maintained control of the situation by selecting his pitches with care and ensuring that the chase remained on track. But Iyer was playing exceptionally well, and everything appeared to be going in PBKS’ direction.

However, CSK responded by taking Iyer out and having Nehal Wadhera shift the momentum back in their favor with two wickets off successive deliveries.

But as PBKS ended the game, winning by five wickets, Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis made sure there were no further hiccups.

Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 209/5 in 20 overs (Ayush Mhatre 73, Shivam Dube 45 not out; Vyshak Vijaykumar 2-38, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-21)
Punjab Kings 210/5 in 18.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 50, Prabhsimran Singh 43, Priyansh Arya 39; Matt Henry 2-54, Anshul Kamboj 2-47)