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Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer’s journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has been full of ups and downs. He has scored 333 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 164.03 but he has flopped badly in the last two matches. On 3 May, against Gujarat Titans, Shreyas could score only 19 runs in 21 balls. Three days later, i.e. on May 6 (Wednesday), in the chase of 236 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), PBKS needed a captaincy innings from Shreyas, when he scored 5 runs in 5 balls.

Shreyas was trapped by Ishaan Malinga. Earlier, Shreyas had an amazing record against Malinga. In the last two encounters in the IPL, he had scored 43 runs in just 13 balls against this Sri Lankan fast bowler and was not out even once. Malinga made a tremendous comeback at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday and sent Shreyas to the pavilion on the very second ball of his spell. SRH captain Pat Cummins took a high catch of Shreyas.

PBKS’s hopes shattered as soon as Shreyas was out

When invited to bat first in the match, SRH scored 235 runs at the loss of 4 wickets. Abhishek Sharma scored 35 runs in 13 balls, while Travis Head scored 38 runs in 19 balls. Ishaan scored 55 runs in 32 balls. Heinrich Klaasen scored 69 runs in 43 balls before being dismissed on the last ball of the innings, while Nitish Kumar Reddy scored 29 not out in 13 balls, as SRH managed to reach the huge score.

In reply, both the openers of PBKS returned to the pavilion in just 1.1 overs. Priyansh Arya (1) was dismissed by Cummins while Prabhsimran Singh (3) was dismissed by Nitish. After this, Malinga broke the back of PBKS by walking Shreyas. Cooper Connolly, holding one end, scored unbeaten 107 runs in 59 balls. Despite this, PBKS could reach only 202 runs and lost the match by 33 runs. This was PBKS’s third consecutive defeat and it has slipped to second place in the points table. SRH has captured the top position.