After cruising through two 200-plus chases and easing past 196 without fuss, Punjab Kings faced a different challenge on Sunday against Lucknow Super Giants, of setting a target for the first time this season. And on a fresh New Chandigarh surface, they responded in style.

Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly powered PBKS to 254, the highest total of IPL 2026 – they upstaged Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 249 against Chennai Super Kings. LSG never got close, and PBKS’ 54-run win extended their unbeaten run to six matches.

LSG, meanwhile, slumped to a third straight loss to slip to No. 8, with only Kolkata Knight Riders – who notched up their first win of the season earlier in the day – and Mumbai Indians – who play Gujarat Titans on Monday – behind them.

Mohammed Shami’s bolt-upright seam and late movement had Prabhsimran Singh nicking to slip for a golden duck in the first over. In the second, Mohsin Khan should have had Connolly twice. First, LSG let go the possibility of an lbw review; replays confirmed three reds as Connolly was beaten attempting to flick an in-ducker. One ball later, Mohsin missed a simple return chance on his follow-through.

Three overs, 40 runs. Those were Mohsin’s powerplay figures in his comeback game. Much of the early damage was done by Arya, who hit him for four sixes – all to different points on the leg side, off short balls aimed into the body. This helped him race to 40 off 13 in the powerplay, and to his half-century in 19 balls.

The standout aspect of Arya’s game was his awareness. He was brutal in front of square with the pull, a mark of how quickly he was picking the length. At one point, just after the powerplay, LSG had four fielders patrolling the leg-side boundary, from long-on to deep backward square leg. Arya responded by walking across his stumps to paddle left-arm spinner M Siddharth past short fine leg.

At 110 for 1 in 10 overs, Pant turned to Shami for a second spell and Connolly welcomed him with two sixes. He had begun slowly, scoring just 41 off his first 32 balls, but now he was in a punishing mood. When Shami went short, he pulled him ferociously in front of square. And when he went slower and fuller, Connolly teed off, straight over his head.

Connolly was audacious too, such as when he exposed all three stumps and got down low to scoop Avesh Khan over short fine leg. His blockbuster act of the night was to come soon after, when he hit Aiden Markram for three back-to-back sixes in his only over, which cost 32. By the end of the 13th over, PBKS had hit 16 sixes; nine by Arya and seven by Connolly.

At the 13-over mark, PBKS were already 179 for 1 and going at nearly 14 an over. The next three overs, however, only brought 17 runs. Prince Yadav, who would end the night with remarkable figures read 4-0-25-2 (the rest travelled for 226 off 16 overs) began the fightback, dismissing Connolly with a hard-length delivery that he sliced to short third, breaking a 182-run stand for the second wicket.

Siddharth dismissed Arya two balls later when an ice-cool Mitchell Marsh held his composure to make a tough catch at long-off look simple. LSG truly seemed to have come back into the game when Mohsin had Shreyas Iyer edging to short third while looking to force the pace in a three-run 16th over. A late blitz from Marcus Stoinis, however, helped PBKS hit 40 off the last three overs, as they eventually got past 250; seven overs went for 15 or more, with three passing the 20 mark.

PBKS walloped 21 sixes, the most in an innings yet this season.

After Rishabh Pant-Markram and Markram-Marsh, LSG opened with Ayush Badoni and Marsh, and they only scored 12 off the first two overs. It spoke of the magnitude of LSG’s task that even 49 off the next four overs, which gave them a powerplay score of 61 for 1 seemed inadequate.

Vyshak Vijaykumar provided the early breakthrough when he dismissed Badoni for 35. Pant hit two sixes off his first three balls, but was reined in expertly by Vyshak and Yuzvendra Chahal. Vyshak stuck to his strengths of bowling the wide yorker and slower deliveries that Pant couldn’t get away, and all that pressure led to Marsh holing out as Chahal struck for the first time in three games. Then Pant fell soon after, LSG slipping to 128 for 4 in the 13th.

The freefall continued with Nicholas Pooran next to go, extending his horror run to six games. Some big hits from Markram merely reduced the margin of defeat. A series of drops late in the innings from Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran were minor blips in yet another dominant PBKS win, which set their campaign up with a great chance of finishing in the top two.

Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 254 for 7 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 93, Cooper Connolly 87, Marcus Stoinis 29, Nehal Wadhera 13, Shashnak Singh 17; Mohammed Shami 1-56, Moshin Khan 1-43, Prince Yadav 2-25, Manimaran Siddharth 2-35) beat Lucknow Super Giants 200 for 5 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 40, Ayush Badoni 35, Risbah Pant 43, Aiden Markram 42*,  Mukul Choudhary 21*; Arsshdeep Singh 1-41, Marco Jansen 2-37, Vijayakumar Vyshak 1-30, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-36) by 54 runs

[Cricinfo]

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered their first win of IPL 2026 with their spinners bossing on a tailormade surface and their lower middle order bailing out their misfiring top order. Rajasthan Royals (RR) played the slow surface smartly, got to 81 for 0 with the bat and then bossed the defence for 15 overs even though they had floundered to score just 155, but all it takes is one bad over for these defences to fall apart.

Dropped on 8, Rinku Singh, struggling for runs so far, began the turnaround with a slog-swept six off Ravi Bishnoi at the start of the 16th over and ended it with a six that brought up his fifty and the win with two balls to spare. However, it was Anukul Roy, who didn’t get to bowl because of a left-hand heavy RR batting, who took down the difficult deliveries in his 29 off 16 after the ask had reached 67 off 33, the only time it crossed two a ball.

A determined unbroken sixth-wicket stand between Lithum Senuja and Kavindu Hettiarachchi powered Wesley into a commanding position on day two of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ final at the Surrey Village Ground, Maggona on Sunday.

‎Replying to Sri Sumangala’s first innings total of 239, Wesley reached 281 for 5 at stumps, taking a 42-run lead with five wickets in hand. The highlight of the day was the unbeaten 144-run partnership for the sixth wicket, with Senuja crafting a patient 55 not out off 155 deliveries, while Hettiarachchi played the more assertive role with an unbeaten 82 off 113 balls.

‎Earlier in the innings, Rasheed Nahyan laid the foundation with a composed 78 off 133 balls, holding the top order together after a steady start. Despite a few middle-order setbacks, Wesley regained control through the resilience and discipline of their lower middle order, batting Sri Sumangala out of the contest in the latter stages of the day.

‎For Sri Sumangala, Mevindu Kumarasiri was the standout performer with the ball, toiling hard for figures of 4 for 125 in a marathon 36-over spell, though he lacked consistent support from the other end as Wesley’s batters dug in.

‎Sri Sumangala’s first innings effort of 239, compiled on day one after electing to bat, was built on patience and partnerships. After slipping to 28 for 2 early on, Vidura Basuru anchored the innings with a resilient 97 off 226 balls. He shared a crucial 72-run stand with Nikesh Iddamalgoda, who counterattacked with a brisk 54 off 58 balls, striking ten boundaries.

‎Basuru then added another valuable 71 runs with Bihanga Silva, who contributed a steady 32 off 102 deliveries, helping consolidate the innings. However, the lack of acceleration in the latter stages meant Sri Sumangala settled for a modest total.

‎Wesley’s bowling effort was led by Jeewahan Sriram, who claimed 3 for 40, while Hettiarachchi (2/37) and Methnula Mayadunna (2/20) provided solid support to restrict Sri Sumangala.

‎With Wesley already in the lead and five wickets intact, they will look to extend their advantage further on day three, while Sri Sumangala must strike early to stay in contention in this closely fought final.

‎Scores:

‎Sri Sumangala – 239 all out in 82.5 overs

‎(Vidura Basuru 97, Nikesh Iddamalgoda 54, Bihanga Silva 32; Jeewahan Sriram 3/40, Kavindu Hettiarachchi 2/37, Methnula Mayadunna 2/20)

‎Wesley – 281/5 in 94 overs

‎(Rasheed Nahyan 78, Lithum Senuja 55 n.o., Kavindu Hettiarachchi 82 n.o.; Mevindu Kumarasiri 4/125)