Punjab Kings pulled off one of the most astonishing victories in IPL history, defending just 111 runs to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 16. KKR, chasing what appeared to be a routine target, collapsed under pressure they never saw coming. ‘
The Punjab bowlers hunted in a pack, but it was Yuzvendra Chahal who stood at the center of it all — spinning, grinning, and conquering. With a sensational four-wicket haul, the leg-spinner turned a bleak night into a festival of madness in New Chandigarh. Marco Jansen delivered the knockout punches, striking thrice, as the chase unraveled in stunning fashion.
The scenes were electric. In the PBKS dugout — chaos. Players were roaring, hugging, thumping their chests. Fans in the stands had tears in their eyes and voices on the brink. It was cricket’s emotional spectrum laid bare.
Earlier in the chase, it seemed KKR were cruising. Despite losing both openers early, Ajinkya Rahane and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi stitched together a calm, stylish stand. Raghuvanshi dazzled briefly with silken strokeplay, while Rahane anchored the chase. But everything changed when Rahane chose not to review an LBW decision — despite replays showing the ball pitched outside off. That selfless walk-off cracked open a door PBKS hadn’t even knocked on yet.
What followed was a spiral. Chahal, who had looked off-color throughout the season, found his groove and turned ruthless. Maxwell tightened the screws, Arshdeep was relentless, and Jansen pounced like a predator in the final act. Even a mini-carnage from Andre Russell — who smashed Chahal for 16 in one over — couldn’t rescue KKR. The big man fell swinging, and the rest tumbled like dominoes.
As the final wicket fell, a deafening roar erupted across the stadium. PBKS didn’t just defend a total — they rewrote history. KKR, stunned and crestfallen, were left to process a match they thought they had in the bag.
Earlier, KKR delivered a bowling performance to remember as they bundled out Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a paltry 111 in a one-sided contest, with Harshit Rana and the mystery spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy doing the bulk of the damage.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
