Skipper Shreyas Iyer landed in trouble with the Board of Control for Cricket in India once again, punishing him, even as Punjab Kings registered a clinical win over Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk on Friday night. PBKS delivered a strong all-round performance to outplay the five-time champions, who slumped to yet another defeat this season. While the bowlers lost some control and leaked runs in the latter half of the innings, the damage had already been done earlier. The batters then stepped up in the chase, comfortably overhauling the 210-run target with eight balls to spare, leaving little room for CSK to fight back.
However, the win came with a setback for Iyer. The PBKS skipper was fined for maintaining a slow over-rate, marking the team’s second offence of the season. He was handed a penalty of INR 24 lakh, while the rest of the playing XI, along with the Impact Player, were fined either INR 6 lakh or 25 per cent of their respective match fees, whichever was lower.
“Punjab Kings Captain Shreyas Iyer has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match No.7 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. As this was his team’s second offence of the season under Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences, Iyer was fined INR 24 lakhs. The rest of the members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, will be fined either INR six lakhs or 25 per cent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser,” the IPL statement read.
Earlier, in PBKS’ first match too, Iyer was handed INR 12 lakh for the same reason.
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Shreyas Iyer credits PBKS openers for win
Meanwhile, Iyer credited PBKS openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh for providing the team with an ideal start in a 210-run chase. The duo shared a 61-run stand for the opening wicket in 4.2 overs, which set the tone for Punjab. Iyer highlighted how their aggressive start put PBKS firmly on course in the chase.
“The way we started today, I think that was an exceptional start for us. Priyansh and Prab doing the job at the start and then setting the bench for us going inside. And I personally feel that the way they’ve been batting over the years now, it’s phenomenal to see them giving us that start, and it stabilises the rhythm for us,” Iyer said after the match.
