The Punjab Kings (PBKS) slumped to their third consecutive loss in IPL 2026 as they went down by 33 runs against the resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). With this loss, PBKS surrendered their top spot for the first time in 23 days as they slipped to 2nd place while the Orange Army out of nowhere have taken top spot for the time being with 14 points from 11 games. There were gaping holes that exposed PBKS yesterday in Hyderabad and we will analyse them for you here.
Losing the power play with both bat and ball hampered PBKS’ progress
PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl first on a belter of a track. The Kings would have hoped for better bowling and early wickets from their bowlers, but it was the complete opposite that we saw out there. The Orange Army came out all guns blazing with Abhishek Sharma in marauding form and tore the listless Punjab bowlers apart. Travis Head took his time initially and then joined in the fun as it was attack from both ends. Abhishek fell but Ishan Kishan came in and continued the momentum and so did Head.
SRH scored 79/1 in 6 overs and that laid the platform for SRH to get a huge score well past 200. Yes, they may not have got to 250 which was possible at one stage, but 235 is also a gigantic score on the board and the bowling left a lot to be desired. Bowling is Punjab’s weakness, there are no two ways about it. It tends to travel and last night was no different. They went for plenty and in the end, 235 was scored which was too hot to handle for the Punjab batters.
When PBKS came to chase 236, the hope would have been to get a fast start of 70-80 and not lose a wicket in power play. But that was not the case as PBKS were rocked early with Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh falling in the first 7 balls of the chase before Shreyas Iyer the captain fell cheaply to be 23/3 inside the power play. Cooper Connolly and Marcus Stoinis ensured they did not lose further wickets in power play. But this start meant PBKS were lagging behind as they made 57/3 in the power play of 6 overs chasing 236.
To put things into perspective, SRH were 22 runs ahead in power play and had 9 wickets in hand while PBKS had lost two extra wickets. The Kings were playing catch-up from then on and eventually lost the game by a considerable margin. The mainstays of the batting faltered under pressure and it was too much to do for Connolly. Going ahead, they will have to fix a lot of areas to come back to winning ways this season.
Multiple dropped catches hampered PBKS
One aspect that PBKS has to improve by leaps and bounds is their fielding. While ground fielding is fine, but catching has left a lot to be desired. The game is played at such a level, where even one dropped catch could prove costly. Here, PBKS were dropping catches for fun as multiple dropped catches were happening. The main batters of SRH who fired last night were given reprieves and most of them were regulation catches. It’s an area to work on for last year’s runner-up.
It all started with Ishan Kishan batting on 1 when he mistimed the pull shot to deep square leg where Cooper Connolly dropped a sitter. Punjab had just dismissed the two openers and had that catch being taken, they could have had the momentum, but that was not to be. Thereafter, Heinrich Klaasen batting on 9* was dropped by Shashank Singh in the deep as Yuzvendra Chahal was the unlucky bowler. Klaasen went onto make 69, 60 more from the dropped catch.
Ishan was a cat with many lives as very soon Lockie Ferguson dropped a catch in the deep and then if that was not enough, Prabhsimran Singh missed an easy stumping. Chahal was the unlucky bowler yet again bowling well without luck. Ishan went onto make 55 where he could or should have been dismissed early while it is the same case for Klaasen scoring 60 runs after earing the lifeline. Punjab were poor in the field.
The duo made Punjab pay as Shreyas in the post-match interview acknowledged those dropped catches as the reason for the loss as according to him that cost the team around 30-40 runs more. The victory margin was 33 runs for SRH last night. It gives us a clear indication as to what went wrong. Catches win matches, and if you don’t take them, you lose them. That was the theme and Punjab have dropped loads of catches this season with Shashank leading the way with 6 drops.
The fielding and catching must improve if PBKS wants to go further in this tournament and go the distance as well. These fielding efforts won’t help them winning the tournament for sure.
Marco Jansen having an off-day compounds PBKS problems
It was a tough day for the PBKS bowlers in Hyderabad. One man who felt the pinch and came under the scanner was Marco Jansen. Most of the Punjab bowlers went the distance on a flat deck with the exception of Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal picked up 1 wicket and on another day may have picked up more wickets. But that was not to be due to the dropped catches. But Jansen had a forgettable outing with the ball and was the worst bowler on display.
He shared the new ball with Arshdeep Singh. Arshdeep went for runs, but kept it under some control and picked up a wicket. The same with Lockie Ferguson who was unlucky. But Jansen was taken to the cleaners as he bowled the wrong line and lengths. It was easy to dispatch him into the stands. He did not pose any threat to the SRH batters. Vijaykumar Vyshak too went for runs, but at least he picked up a wicket. Jansen didn’t have a wicket to show for and was ordinary going for 61 in 4 overs and giving away 23-24 runs away for fun.
PBKS will be hoping Jansen gets his mojo back soon as they need him to fire with the ball in hand. Jansen is a key figure for the Kings and with the business end of the tournament upon us, he will be expected to turn back the clock and come back into form. The bowling needs improvement, especially Jansen for PBKS to improve themselves. They have issues to address now going forward.
What Lies Ahead
So, SRH have gone upwards to the top of the table with this win while PBKS slides to the second place in the points table. They may slide to third by the end of tonight should RCB beat LSG. PBKS will make their way to Dharamsala where they will play 3 home games back-to-back. They play DC next on Monday night. SRH have a break now as have played 11 games and have only 3 games to play.
Tonight, we go to the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow where LSG hosts RCB. LSG are all but out of the tournament and needs a win to keep their mathematical hopes alive. While RCB are back after a week’s break and will aim to win and go top of the points table tonight. Let’s see how things pan out in Lucknow later tonight.
Also Read:Â SRH vs PBKS: SRH Go Top Of Points Table After Impressive Win