IPL 2026: Shreyas’s early dismissal was the turning point of the match, says Aakash Chopra

NEW DELHI: Punjab Kings’ chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad was effectively derailed by the early dismissal of captain Shreyas Iyer, according to former India opener Aakash Chopra, who termed the wicket the turning point of the contest which the visitors lost by 33 runs.

In the fourth over of second innings, Iyer miscued a cutter from pacer Eshan Malings and was caught by skipper Pat Cummins, as he made five off as many balls. With him, Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya falling cheaply, PBKS could make only 202/7, despite Cooper Connolly hitting 107 off 59 balls, and suffer their third straight defeat.

“They had already lost two wickets. There’s a stat that if you lose two or more wickets in the Powerplay while chasing, you are on the back foot in about 70 per cent of matches. And this was the third wicket. It was a slightly slow surface.

“I know Cooper Connolly played really well, but on such pitches, you expect your experienced Indian batters to take you through when the ball isn’t coming onto the bat easily. In that scenario, if Shreyas gets out early, especially in a big run chase, it becomes very difficult.

“Even against Delhi, despite those big starts from the openers, Punjab might have lost that game if not for those two dropped catches of Shreyas. Without him, it wasn’t happening. Once he was out, the game was almost gone,” said Chopra on JioHotstar.