Yuzvendra Chahal stars as Punjab Kings defend 111 to beat KKR

MULLANPUR: In a low-scoring thriller, Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings stunned the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, successfully defending a modest total and claiming a historic win in the IPL. Chasing a target of just 112 runs, Kolkata was bowled out for 95 in 15.1 overs, collapsing dramatically from a strong position of 62 for 2, undone by the magical spin of Yuzvendra Chahal. With this, Punjab set a new IPL record for the lowest total ever defended by a team.

Kolkata’s chase started poorly. By 1.2 overs, both openers — Sunil Narine (5 off 4) and Quinton de Kock (2 off 4) — were back in the dugout with just 7 runs on the board. A promising 55-run stand for the third wicket between captain Ajinkya Rahane (17 off 17) and young talent Ankkrish Raghuvanshi (37 off 28) gave hope to KKR. However, Chahal dismissed both, turning the tide in Punjab's favour. Score: 72 for 4.

In the very next over, Glenn Maxwell removed Venkatesh Iyer (7 off 4). Then came a quick collapse — Rinku Singh (2 off 9) and Ramandeep Singh fell in succession to Chahal, reducing KKR to 79 for 8. Though Andre Russell launched a mini counterattack with two sixes and a four in Chahal’s final over, KKR still needed just 17 runs from the last 5 overs with one wicket in hand. In the first ball of the 16th over, Marco Jansen clean bowled Russell (17 off 11), sealing an unbelievable win for Punjab.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the star, taking 4 wickets, while Marco Jansen claimed 3. Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, and Maxwell picked up a wicket each.

Earlier, Punjab, electing to bat first, were bowled out for just 111 runs in 15.3 overs, despite a fiery start by openers Priyansh Arya (22 off 12) and Prabhsimran Singh (30 off 15). At 3.2 overs, Punjab had reached 39 runs before the first wicket fell. What followed was a collapse.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer departed for a duck (0 off 2) in the same over. Josh Inglis (2 off 6) was bowled by Varun Chakravarthy, and Prabhsimran gifted his wicket to Harshit Rana. Nehal Wadhera (10 off 9) and Glenn Maxwell (7 off 10) also failed, bringing Punjab down to 76 for 6 in 9.1 overs.

Impact sub Suyansh Shedge (4 off 4) couldn't make an impact either. Shashank Singh (18 off 17) provided a brief resistance, with Marco Jansen (1 off 2), Xavier Bartlett (11 off 15), and Arshdeep Singh (1)* adding minimal runs.

For KKR, Harshit Rana shone with the ball, picking up three key top-order wickets, while Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets each. Vaibhav Arora and Anrich Nortje shared one wicket apiece.