CHANDIGARH: Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal returned figures of 4-28 as Punjab Kings defended IPL’s lowest ever total of 111 to down holders Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs in a thriller on Tuesday.
Kolkata looked to be cruising at 62-2 before Chahal cut through the chase with his leg-spin, and the side collapsed to 95 all out in 15.1 overs at Mullanpur, near Chandigarh.
Punjab were earlier bowled out for 111 in 15.3 overs but Chahal and company turned the match on its head to better Chennai Super Kings’ record — they defended 116 against them (formerly Kings XI Punjab) in 2009.
Kolkata’s Andre Russell attempted to pull off the chase from 79-8 when he hit two sixes and a four off Chahal but Punjab held their nerve.
Arshdeep Singh sent back Vaibhav Arora and then fellow left-arm quick Marco Jansen bowled Russell to trigger wild celebrations in Punjab’s home ground.
“I have coached a lot of games in the IPL and that might just be about the best win I ever had,” head coach Ricky Ponting said after the close contest.
Kolkata skipper Ajinkya Rahane and impact substitute Angkrish Raghuvanshi put on 55 runs for the third wicket when Chahal broke through to get the captain back in the pavilion lbw.
Ball tracker suggested the ball was outside the off stump, but Rahane did not take the review.
“Pretty disappointed with the effort,” said Rahane. “I’ll take the blame, played the wrong shot, although it was missing.”
Chahal, with his tail now up, got Raghuvanshi caught out in the next over for 37 and the Punjab were in the game when Glenn Maxwell had Venkatesh Iyer lbw for seven.
Chahal then got two in two — Rinku Singh stumped and Ramandeep Singh out for a golden duck — before Harshit Rana avoided the hat-trick ball.
But the day belonged Chahal and Punjab who moved into the top four of the 10-team table with their fourth win in six matches.
Ponting said Chahal, who was named player of the match, had a fitness test before the game for a shoulder injury he picked in his previous outing.
Earlier, Rana rattled the Punjab top-order after a brisk start by the openers and returned figures of 3-25 from his three overs.
New batting sensation Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh made the hosts race to 39 in 3.1 overs, before Rana struck to send back the left-handed Arya caught at fine leg for 22.
Rana got one more wicket two balls later when Ramandeep pulled off a stunning catch in the deep to dismiss skipper Shreyas Iyer, for a duck.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy joined forces in the next over to have Punjab’s England import Josh Inglis bowled for two.
Prabhsimran, who made 30, attempted to hit back with two sixes off Rana but the bowler had the last laugh with Ramandeep once again taking a catch at point.
Chakravarthy and fellow spinner Sunil Narine kept striking regular blows as Punjab’s batting faltered only for their bowlers to ultimately save the day.
Chahal stars as Punjab defend IPL’s lowest total of 111 in ‘best win’
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Chahal stars as Punjab defend IPL’s lowest total of 111 in ‘best win’
- Kolkata looked to be cruising at 62-2 before Chahal cut through the chase with his leg-spin, and the side collapsed to 95 all out in 15.1 overs
- Punjab were earlier bowled out for 111 in 15.3 overs but Chahal and company turned the match on its head
Pakistan face arch-rivals India today in blockbuster T20 World Cup clash in Colombo
- Cricket contest takes place amid surging political tensions between India and Pakistan after their May 2025 clash
- Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav says team will decide whether or not to shake hands with Pakistani cricketers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan take on defending champions and arch-rivals India today, Sunday, in Colombo in a highly anticipated T20 World Cup 2026 clash between the two sides.
The Group A fixture between the two sides will not just be important for the on-field cricket action but also because of the political tensions between the neighbors. India and Pakistan engaged in a brief military confrontation in May 2025 which came to a halt after Washington brokered a ceasefire.
However, political tensions spilled over onto the cricket field when Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav opted out of shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart before the toss at their Asia Cup encounter last year in September. The Indian team refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in all three matches of the tournament, triggering a strong protest from Pakistan.
Tensions surged again after Pakistan’s government announced earlier this month it would not allow its team to play against India in the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh. The South Asian country was replaced with Scotland after it refused to play its matches in India due to security reasons. Pakistan criticized the move and announced boycotting the Feb. 15 match against India. However, Islamabad later took back its decision to boycott the match after negotiations with the International Cricket Council.
“The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday. “The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do.”
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not commit whether his team will shake hands with Pakistan or not on Sunday.
“Why are you highlighting that?” Yadav asked reporters. “We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow.”
Political and military tensions have meant the two teams have not played a bilateral series for years.
India has not traveled to Pakistan since 2008 and Pakistan visited India for the 50-over World Cup in 2023 but has since played ICC tournaments at neutral venues.
India has defeated Pakistan 12 times in the 16 T20 games they have played. They also have an impressive 6-1 record in the eight T20 World Cup matches since the first edition in 2007, with one being tied.
“We don’t have a good record against them in World Cups,” Agha admitted. “But whenever you come to play a new match, it’s a new day and you have to play good cricket to win.
“You can’t change history. You can learn from it. We learned from it and we’ll try to do a good performance tomorrow and win the match.”
Both sides have won their two fixtures so far, with India beating the USA and Namibia while Pakistan have defeated the Netherlands and the USA as well.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight stage of the World Cup.
The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
