New Delhi: Celebration, thunder and smiles Shreyas Iyer All this the Punjab Kings captain said after producing a captain’s knock to guide Punjab Kings to a much-needed win in their must-win IPL 2026 clash against Lucknow Supergiants at the Ekna Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday.Punjab Kings beat Lucknow Supergiants by seven wickets thanks to Iyer’s brilliant century.The win helped PBKS take 15 points from their 14 league matches and reclaimed fourth place on the points table.However, Punjab’s playoff fate is still not entirely in their hands.Now they will be watching Sunday’s clash between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.“We support MI tomorrow,” Iyer said after the match.Rajasthan Royals currently have 14 points. If RR beat Mumbai Indians, they will move to 16 points and make it to the final playoffs by knocking Punjab Kings out of the tournament.Iyer admitted he was feeling “ecstatic” after achieving the double milestone against LSG – scoring his maiden IPL century and keeping Punjab alive in the play-off race.During the post-match presentation, player-of-the-match Iyer said, “Exciting, first century of the season, we finally won after six consecutive defeats. I know if I give myself time in the middle and the ball instead of going over the top… I know I need to stay out for as long as possible.”“It’s a real feeling, to finish a game and score a century. I was in a great frame of mind, felt great inside,” he added.Iyer also praised Prabhasmaran Singh, who scored 69, for his contribution to the match-winning 140-run stand for the third wicket.“Prabh was energetic and the interaction we had was very good. That partnership was crucial, it created momentum in the game… seriously exciting,” he said, praising the bowlers for restricting LSG to a sub-200 total.The PBKS captain revealed that the team deliberately kept things relaxed ahead of the high-pressure encounter.“We kept it simple instead of having meetings and putting pressure on the guys. Important games require a free flow of mind. We don’t want to force them to think too much, and I told Ricky we don’t need to have a team meeting,” he said.
