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New Delhi: Punjab Kings have slumped to three losses in a row in IPL 2026, which if not snapped quickly would pose a big problem for their title winning ambitions, said skipper Shreyas Iyer.

Punjab had won six of their first seven games to grab the top spot but has since gone down in three successive defeats, including a 33-run to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday after another forgettable fielding performance littered with dropped catches and missed stumpings.

Sunrisers made most of those missed chances to score 235 for four and then restrict Punjab to 202 for seven.

“I feel we got a fairytale start in the tournament, and everyone was in a great space. If we are going to continue with the same form, that’s not going to help us,” Iyer said after the match.

“It (the target) was a bit too much because we dropped catches at the start and we could have easily delayed their score by 30 to 40 runs. The wicket kept getting slower. They played comprehensive cricket, and showed us how to win the match.”

Cooper Connolly struck an unbeaten century (107 off 59 delivers), his first in his debut IPL season but apart from him none of the Punjab batters got going.

“Connolly is phenomenal. His mindset is top notch and the character he brings onto the field. It’s something that all players can learn from him. And apart from that, I feel that he’s got a knack of scoring big runs in pressure situations,” Iyer said.

Sunrisers Hyderabad soared to the top in the standings with 14 points from 11 matches, making skipper Pat Cummins glad.

“Punjab are a really good side. I thought the batters to get off to what we did was sensational. No matter what the score is, bowling second against that side was clinical,” Cummins said.

“We’re pretty good at playing it at our pace. It’s just trying to max out. It gripped a little bit, which suits our bowlers. We’ve seen it before; we can adjust.”

After missing their first few games with a back injury, the Australian seamer was chosen as the player-of-the-match for his 2/34, including the key wickets of Iyer and PBKS opener Priyansh Arya.

“I fell really good. Came into this fresh. Not much has worked for any team in the powerplay, really. We’ve got lots of options,” Cummins added.