Punjab Edges Closer to Title with Thrilling Win Over Kolkata

Punjab's batting unit shone in a dominant performance against Kolkata, moving them closer to their first title. Find out what's next for the team.

Punjab moved up to fourth place in the 10-team table with five wins, three losses, and one no-result, still chasing their first title in the tournament. Meanwhile, Kolkata remained seventh with three wins, five defeats, and one no-result after their loss.

Punjab posted 201-4, thanks to a solid opening partnership between Priyansh Arya (69) and Prabhsimran Singh (83), who added 120 runs together. The duo balanced caution and aggression, keeping the bowlers on their toes for the first 11 overs. Arya accelerated his innings, reaching his fifty in 27 balls with a flurry of boundaries and a six off Harshit Rana.

Punjab Kings posted a strong total of 201/4 in their 20 overs, thanks to a brilliant partnership between Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 69 off 35 balls and 83 off 49 deliveries, respectively. Their 120-run stand off 11.5 overs set a solid foundation for the Kings. Kolkata Knight Riders' bowlers, led by Vaibhav Arora and Andre Russell, managed to pull things back, with Arora picking up two wickets for 34 runs.

The match was eventually called off due to rain after Kolkata Knight Riders had managed just one over in their chase, scoring seven runs without losing a wicket. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was on 1 run off 3 balls, and Sunil Narine scored 4 runs off 3 balls. Both teams were awarded one point each, making this the first no-result game of the Indian Premier League season.

The result moved Punjab Kings to fourth place with 11 points from nine matches, while Kolkata Knight Riders remained seventh with 7 points from nine encounters. This no-result could be valuable for Punjab Kings in their playoff bid, but it's another setback for Kolkata Knight Riders, who need to win all their remaining matches to advance to the playoffs without relying on net run rate.

Andre Russell broke the partnership when Priyansh Arya was caught deep mid-wicket after mistiming a pull shot. Prabhsimran Singh continued his aggressive batting, smashing fours and sixes, but eventually fell to Vaibhav Arora after scoring his second half-century.

Top-order carnage! 💥💥

Priyansh and Prabhsimran power Punjab to a solid 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣.

Can the hosts chase it down?#KKRvPBKS #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/Nv9m0IackU

— 100MB (@100MasterBlastr) April 26, 2025

Kolkata's bowlers tried to stem the flow by taking key wickets, including Glenn Maxwell, who was bowled by Varun Chakravarthy, and Marco Jansen, who fell to Arora. The run rate slowed after the 15th over, but Shreyas Iyer accelerated with an unbeaten 25 off 16 balls, guiding the team past 200 alongside Josh Inglis.

The match was eventually called off due to rain and drizzle after Kolkata's cautious start. The abandonment of the game left Punjab with a total of 201-4 and Kolkata without a chance to chase down the target.