Punjab Kings registered a 37-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2025 game at Dharamsala on Sunday. The victory helped PBKS gain two spots in the table and move to the second position with 15 points from 11 matches. Kolkata Knight Riders too registered a narrow one-run win over Rajasthan Royals earlier in the day and rose to the sixth spot with 11 points to their credit from as many matches. Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Virat Kohli continues to have the Orange Cap with 505 runs in 11 matches, while Gujarat Titans pacer Prasidh Krishna also holds the Purple Cap with 19 wickets from 10 games.
Rishabh Pant again struggled to a low score as his Lucknow Super Giants team slumped to a fourth defeat in five IPL games, losing by 37 runs to the Punjab Kings on Sunday.
Opener Prabhsimran Singh struck 91 off 48 balls to steer Punjab to 236-5, helped by several impressive cameos at the Kings’ second home in Dharamsala.
Arshdeep Singh then returned brilliant figures of 3-16 as Lucknow could only make 199-7 in reply. Pant fell for a 17-ball 18 in another failure for the India star.
Pant, who was snapped up by LSG for a record price of $3.21 million in the November auction, could not find any fluency during his stay despite hitting two fours and one six.
The wicketkeeper-batsman has mustered only 128 runs from 10 innings this season.
Lucknow sit seventh in the table, four points outside the fourth and final play-off spot with three games remaining.
Punjab climbed to second behind leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru after their seventh win of the campaign.
Lucknow were never in their chase after left-arm seamer Arshdeep struck twice in the space of four balls in his second over to send back Mitchell Marsh, for a duck, and then Aiden Markram, for 13.
He dismissed the dangerous Nicholas Pooran for six before Pant attempted to rebuild in a scratchy innings that was ended by Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai.
Omarzai soon sent back David Miller for 11 to put Lucknow in further trouble at 73-5.
Ayush Badoni, who top-scored with 74, and Abdul Samad, who hit 45, put on a valiant stand of 81 but could only reduce the margin of defeat.
Earlier, Australia’s Josh Inglis, who hammered a quick 30, and Prabhsimran lay the foundations for Punjab’s imposing total with a second-wicket partnership of 48.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer took charge after Inglis’ departure and made 45 in a partnership of 78 with Prabhsimran, who survived a dropped catch by Pooran when on 21.
Leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi denied Prabhsimran a century, but Shashank Singh, who struck an unbeaten 33, and Marcus Stoinis, who made 15 not out off five balls, ensured Punjab finished strongly.
(With AFP Inputs)
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