Prabhsimran Singh‘s flaring 69, Shreyas Iyer’s fifty and ‘Impact Sub’ Nehal Wadhera’s impactful cameo formed the cornerstone of Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) emphatic eight-wicket triumph over Lucknow Super Giants in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Tuesday. Prabhsimran Singh‘s pretty brilliant innings paved the way toward a successful chase by PBKS in the guise of sheer precision and elegant flavour, while the finishing touches were given by the calculated aggression of Wadhera and captain Shreyas Iyer’s knock for an easy victory.
The cherry atop the cake was captain Shreyas Iyer, who led the way in the chase with a breath-taking innings, bringing up his second fifty of the season with a huge six off the last ball of the over.
A collective effort from the bowlers was followed by belligerent batting from Prabhsimran Singh (69 off 34), Shreyas Iyer (52* off 30) and Nehal Wadhera (43* off 25) as Punjab Kings thumped Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets to register their second successive win. Playing their first home game, LSG finished with 171/7, a total that proved too little for a rampaging Punjab side who got over the line with 3.4 overs to spare.
In the first half of both innings. A disciplined bowling effort from PBKS, on what looked like a slowish wicket, helped them pick up regular wickets to keep LSG’s scoring in check. Even though Nicholas Pooran led his team’s recovery with a flurry of hits, LSG got only 76 runs in their first 10 overs, at the cost of three wickets.
In contrast, Prabhsimran Singh flayed the LSG attack as he raced to a 23-ball half-century – the fastest in IPL games in Lucknow – and by the time the 10th over was completed, PBKS had galloped to 110/1, 34 more than what LSG had at that stage.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : It’s a red soil pitch completely. It’s a high-scoring venue irrespective of the pitch that has been used. One thing that favours the bowlers in the big nature of this ground. The dimensions are 70m and 64m square boundaries, it’s 77m down the ground. Red soil pitch tends to have more pace and bounce. This surface has an even covering of grass and looks brilliant. There won’t be much seam movement. There could be some turn and bounce for the spinners though. There won’t be much dew, reckons Deep Dasgupta.
Toss : Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl with Lockie Ferguson making his debut in the Playing XI for Punjab. Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant made no changes in the Playing XI.
Arshdeep Singh and bowlers restricts LSG to 171 in 20 overs
LSG suffered an early blow as the in-form Mitchell Marsh fell for a golden duck, getting a leading edge trying to tuck an Arshdeep delivery to the leg side. Only three came in the opening over and Lockie Ferguson, who replaced Azmatullah Omarzai, followed it up with another tight over, giving away only four.
The first ball that Arshdeep Singh bowled to Mitchell Marsh stopped on him, seamed away from a leg-stump line, and had him skying a catch to Marco Jansen at short third. After having hit fifties in his first two innings this season, Marsh departed for a golden duck.
Aiden Markram got LSG going with three fours off Arshdeep in the third over and also took on Ferguson, hitting a four and a six. But the Kiwi bowler hit back by having the South African batter inside-edge onto the stumps. LSG had another setback in the next over when Rishabh Pant hit a short ball from Glenn Maxwell straight to short fine leg and a quiet over from Marco Jansen ended a successful powerplay for PBKS.
It was Lockie Ferguson who shared new-ball duties with Arshdeep, ahead of Jansen. Ferguson usually operates with the older ball for New Zealand and various franchises, but PBKS inverted his role on Tuesday to take advantage of a match-up with Pooran. Before this fixture, and across all T20s, Ferguson had snared Pooran four times in 17 balls at a strike rate of 7.05.
However, Ferguson ended up bowling just three balls to Pooran on the day. After being picked away for three fours by Aiden Markram, Ferguson bowled him via an inside edge for 28 off 18 balls. With two left-handers in the form of Pooran and Rishabh Pant in the middle, PBKS matched Glenn Maxwell’s offspin up with them. Maxwell removed Pant for the third time in four innings in the IPL. The IPL’s most expensive signing at INR 27 crore, Pant has managed just 17 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 65.38.
Despite top-edging a six off Jansen, Ayush Badoni had a slow start but Nicholas Pooran ensured steady progress for LSG with regular hits to the fence. Pooran lived up to his reputation as a good striker of spin, taking on Maxwell and Yuzvendra Chahal. He even struck a four and a six off Marcus Stoinis, bringing up the half-century stand in the process.
Pooran was looking good for his fifth successive IPL fifty but he fell six short of the mark, sucked into a lofted shot by Chahal to be caught at long off. Meanwhile, Badoni, who was on 16 off 19, finally got going as he played an exquisite cover drive off Ferguson for a six. David Miller picked up pace after a watchful start, scoring boundaries off Chahal and Maxwell, as LSG regained traction.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, Pooran remained positive, hitting Maxwell for back-to-back fours in the seventh over. A cat-and-mouse game then ensued between Pooran and Yuzvendra Chahal. The wrist spinner’s plan was to hide the ball away from the swinging arc of Pooran with wrong ‘uns. In his first over, Pooran cracked his wrong ‘uns away for a brace of fours, but in his next Chahal had Pooran holing out to wide long-off for 44 off 30 balls with a loopier wrong ‘un.
Jansen bagged the wicket of Miller, who looked to punch a delivery that had extra bounce, getting an edge to the ‘keeper. Abdul Samad got going with a six off the first ball he faced, and Badoni also struck a maximum off Chahal. The momentum that LSG were hoping for came in the 18th over in which Arshdeep conceded 20.
Three fours and a six came in that over, including an audacious scoop shot by Samad. But PBKS had a good finish as Jansen bowled a tight 19th over, giving away only 8 runs and Arshdeep came back well in the final over, dismissing Badoni and Samad, to keep LSG below 175.
When Jansen had his South African compatriot David Miller caught behind for 19 off 16 balls, LSG slipped further to 119 for 5 in the 16th over. Badoni and Samad then briefly changed the mood and tempo of the game with a 47-run partnership off only 21 balls. Samad had launched his first ball, from Jansen, for six after stepping out and then left jaws on the floor when he reverse-scooped Arshdeep over the keeper in the 18th over, which cost PBKS 20 runs. Arshdeep had both batters holing out in the final over, though, to keep PBKS below 180.
Prabhsimran Singh’s Exceptional 69, Shreyas Iyer’s Fifty Propel PBKS To 8-Wicket Win Over LSG
Prabhsimran Singh got PBKS off to a good start, striking two fours and a six inside the first two overs. Priyansh Arya put away a short ball from Digvesh Rathi for a boundary before he was put down by Marsh at slip. Arya then top-edged a pull to depart in the same over, with a send off from the bowler reminiscent of Kesrick Williams. The dismissal did little to stop PBKS’s tempo as Prabhsimran Singh continued to deal in boundaries, including two fours and a six off Ravi Bishnoi, to power the team past 60 before the powerplay was completed.
Prabhsimran Singh relishes pace on the ball and it was no different on Tuesday. Unlike the first innings, the ball skidded onto the bat in the second, with Prabhsimran Singh ramping Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan for six and four respectively in the first two overs. Pant responded by throwing mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi at Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya. Rathi created a chance with his second ball, but Marsh fluffed an overhead catch at slip. The drop, though, cost LSG just one run as Rathi had Arya caught by Thakur at mid-on for 8.
Left-arm spinner M Siddharth came in as an impact sub and was welcomed into the attack with a switch-hit four by Prabhsimran Singh. Iyer went over cover for a maximum in the same over before Prabhsimran took a single to bring up a 23-ball fifty. The spree of boundaries continued as he hit two fours off Bishnoi and one off Siddharth.
Not to be left behind, Iyer hooked a short ball from Shardul Thakur for a six as PBKS wiped off 64 percent of the target in the first half of their innings. A terrific relay effort near the boundary involving Badoni and Bishnoi ended Prabhsimran Singh’s entertaining innings, giving Rathi his second wicket. Nehal Wadhera, PBKS’ impact sub, dealt in regular boundaries, including two sixes and a four in a Bishnoi over. Iyer also played his shots well, striking a four and a six off Avesh Khan, leaving PBKS needing only 17 off 30.
Prabhsimran Singh took down Ravi Bishnoi in the last over of the powerplay. He lined up his wrong ‘uns and slog-swept him with the turn over mid-on and square leg. He then greeted dart-it-in left-arm finger spinner M Siddharth, who was picked ahead of Prince Yadav as LSG’s Impact Player, with a switch-hit four. He brought up his fifty in more sedate fashion with a tucked single.
It felt like LSG needed something special to dismiss Prabhsimran Singh. That something special was a tag-team catch near the boundary from Badoni and Bishnoi. He holed out for 69 off 34 balls. Wadhera crunched a six off Thakur to bring up the half-century stand, followed by another six to bring the equation to single digits. A four and a dot followed, leaving Iyer, on 46, to hit the winning six and bring up his second successive fifty in the process. PBKS’ facile win also gave them a big NRR boost as they moved up to the second spot on the points table.
PBKS required 62 off 59 balls, which was enough for Iyer to knock off a fifty of his own. He forged an unbroken 67-run stand off 37 balls with Impact Player Nehal Wadhera to finish the job with more than three overs to spare. PBKS established themselves as the early pace-setters, alongside Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC), in IPL 2025 with two wins in two games.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Rishabh Pant the loosing LSG skipper said : It (the total) wasn’t enough, we were 20-25 runs short, but that’s part and parcel of the game. Still assessing the conditions at our home ground. It’s always going to be difficult to get a big total when you lose early wickets, but each and every player is trying hard to take the game forward.
The idea was to get a slow wicket. I think the slower balls were sticking in. We got to learn from this game and move forward. There are a lot of positives, can’t say much.
Shreyas Iyer the winning PBKS skipper said : It is the start we required. Boys played their role really well. Every individual contributed to the best of their ability and whatever was discussed in the team meeting, we implemented really well. To be honest, there’s no right combination.
Just that the camaraderie and synergy has to click at the right time. I feel all teams have the right potential to go out there and win the game. It’s just that you need to have the similar kind of mindset when you go out there, which is to win. I always try to be in the present as much as possible. Even this innings is now history for me. Just want to focus on the next one now.
Prabhsimran Singh Player of the Match for his 69 runs said : As everyone knows, he’s such a legend (talking about coach Ponting). He’s always very positive. He doesn’t think about what-ifs. He’s asked us to back our game. Have practiced those shots a lot in the nets (the sweeps and switch hits). This is one platform which can help you achieve your goal of playing for India.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) bossed both the powerplays en route to their second successive win in IPL 2025. After opting to bowl on a fairly two-paced red-soil pitch, they left Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at 39 for 3 in six overs. Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni helped LSG overcome that poor start and post 171 for 7, which was a par score according to Nicholas Pooran, the holder of the orange cap.
Pooran’s assessment, however, might have changed quickly after Prabhsimran Singh clattered a 23-ball half-century in the chase. Prabhsimran Singh claimed 45 of the 62 runs PBKS had scored in the powerplay. There would be no way back for LSG, who suffered their second defeat in three games. Shreyas Iyer completed PBKS’ demolition job with an unbeaten 52 off 30 balls.
Wow that was mighty impressive from the Punjab Kings! They have gunned down the target of 172 like it was nothing. You saw the might of their batting in Ahmedabad, and you’ve now seen it in Lucknow as well on a pitch that wasn’t very straightforward, at least in the first innings. But it definitely didn’t seem that way when Prabhsimran Singh was hammering it to all parts of the ground. What a knock that was from the young opener who has been with this franchise for around six years and looks to be coming into his own.
He belted both pace and spin alike, and took the game away from LSG in no time. Shreyas Iyer continued his brilliant form as well, making a 30-ball fifty look almost effortless. And Nehal Wadhera, who got an opportunity today after being left out in the previous game, showed what he has to offer for his new franchise. This team is going to be one to watch out for in this tournament.
Punjab Kings have started their campaign in style with two straight wins in this tournament. Next up for them will be their first home game of the season as they host the Rajasthan Royals at Mullanpur. Lucknow Super Giants, on the other hand, will hope to bounce back when they take on the Mumbai Indians in a couple of days at this same venue. LSG stay back in Lucknow for their second home game as they’ll take on Mumbai Indians on April 4. PBKS will fly to Chandigarh to play their first home match, against Rajasthan Royals on April 5.