As Punjab Kings lost by 33 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match No. 49 of the Indian Premier League 2026, Aakash Chopra has pinpointed captain Shreyas Iyer's early dismissal as the reason behind the visitors' defeat. Chopra said that after losing a couple of early wickets, it was not going to be easy for PBKS to make a comeback in their run chase of 236 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on May 06.
Iyer was the third batter to be dismissed during the run chase, as he could not stand
long enough at the crease alongside Cooper Connolly, who was the lone warrior for his unbeaten century, also his maiden T20 hundred. More than the dropped catches in the first innings, Chopra believes that if Iyer had been at the crease for a lot longer period, there might have been a chance for a successful pursuit of the target.
"They had already lost two wickets. There’s a stat that if you lose two or more wickets in the Powerplay while chasing, you are on the back foot in about 70 per cent of matches. And this was the third wicket. It was a slightly slow surface. I know Cooper Connolly played really well, but on such pitches, you expect your experienced Indian batters to take you through when the ball isn’t coming onto the bat easily.
"In that scenario, if Shreyas gets out early, especially in a big run chase, it becomes very difficult. Even against Delhi, despite those big starts from the openers, Punjab might have lost that game if not for those two dropped catches of Shreyas. Without him, it wasn’t happening. Once he was out, the game was almost gone,” Chopra expressed via JioStar.
With the loss, Shreyas & Co. have now lost their third game of the season. They had maintained dominance throughout the first half, but that was conceded as SRH took over the top spot on the points table, with 14 points at a net run-rate of 0.737. PBKS, on the other hand, have 13 points after six wins in ten matches. Their next encounter is against Delhi Capitals (May 11) at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala.
