Punjab Kings pulled a rabbit out of the hat in Match 31 of the Indian Premier League 2025 season against Kolkata Knight Riders at Mullanpur in Chandigarh. KKR did extremely well with the ball to bowl PBKS out for 111 runs. In what was a small 112-run target, the Knights were well placed at 62/2 at one stage, needing 50 runs with 8 wickets in hand. 12.3 overs were still left to be played. However, PBKS roared back in style and caused a massive upset. The Knights were folded for 95 runs, losing 8 wickets for 33 runs. It was a collective batting failure from the eastern giants, who need to take the blame for their brain fade moments and surrendering the contest.
This was KKR’s 4th defeat of the season in 7 matches. They are placed sixth at the moment. On the other hand, PBKS claimed their 4th win from 6 games and are placed 4th with 8 points in their bag.
It was Yuzvendra Chahal who caused KKR’s collapse. He dismissed Ajinkya Rahane to make it 62/3 before KKR fell like pins. Chahal claimed a solid four-wicket haul, and the other bowlers backed him well. The key wicket was of Angriksh Raghuvanshi, who perished for 38 to Chahal. KKR will feel absolutely gutted for missing out on two valuable points with the halfway stage of their IPL season gone.
Earlier, the Kings were off to a strong start, with openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh adding 39 runs inside 4 overs. KKR fought back through Harshit Rana before the spinners took control and bowled the hosts out for a score of 111 in just 15.3 overs. Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine were impressive,e with two wickets each. Pacer Rana took 3 wickets.
Here are three heroes and 3 zeroes from the PBKS vs KKR contest in Chandigarh.
Heroes
Yuzvendra Chahal: The veteran Indian spinner orchestrated KKR’s downfall in this match. It was a stupendous performance from Chahal, who was under the cosh for a poor performance this season for PBKS. Chahal bagged the vital scalps of Rahane, Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh. He picked 4/28 from his 4 overs. The right-arm wrist-spinner has raced to 370 T20 scalps at 23.57. It was his 11th four-fer in T20s (5-wicket hauls: 2). 211 of his wickets in T20s have come in the IPL at 22.73. He has 7 four-fers and a fifer. Chahal became the leading wicket-taker against KKR in the IPL with 33 scalps. He went past Bhuvneshwar Kumar (32).
Marco Jansen: The South African speedster bagged three wickets for 17 runs from 3.1 overs. This is now his best figures in the IPL. In the first over of the run-chase, Jansen got the massive scalp of Sunil Narine after being hit for a four. Later on, he dismissed Rana to reduce KKR to 79/8 in the 13th over. With the Knights needing 17 runs to win the contest and having a wicket in hand, Jansen dismissed the dangerous Andre Russell (17), defending his side’s score. A short of length delivery wide outside off saw Russell attempt a pull as he made room, looking to go big. Jansen derived his thick inside edge on the stumps to send the fans into jubilation.
Sunil Narine: The premier spin sensation of KKR bowled three overs and gave away just 14 runs for two wickets. He conceded at 4.70 runs an over. Narine claimed the crucial wickets of Suryansh Hegde and Jansen. Narine hardly stepped a foot wrong and dictated the terms. He bowled 9 dot balls in his 3 overs and was hit for a single four. He went past Umesh Yadav to become the most successful bowler against PBKS in IPL history (36). In 183 IPL matches, Narine owns 187 wickets at 25.26. This season, he has taken 7 scalps at 22. Overall, Narine owns 581 T20 scalps from 542 games at 21.61.
Zeroes
Angkrish Raghuvanshi: The youngster was KKR’s top scorer with 37 runs off 28 balls. However, the batter belongs to this zeroes list, given he threw his wicket away at a crucial juncture of the contest. KKR had just lost Rahane (62/3), and soon they became 72/4 with Raghuvanshi perishing in the first ball of the 10th over. KKR needed him to be that match-winner who stays until the end and gets the side home but here he showed his inexperience. Raghuvanshi backed away toward the leg and looked to go inside out through cover against Chahal but ended up being caught at a backward point.
Quinton de Kock: Barring a 97* versus Rajasthan Royals, Quinton de Kock’s time with KKR is turning out to be rather abysmal. This was another poor effort from the former Proteas star. KKR had already lost Narine in the 1st over, and then QDK departed in the very next over. The southpaw connected a not-so-faller ball by Xavier Bartlett around his pads. However, he ended up hoisting the ball high into the air and ended up getting caught. With a small target, de Kock needed to be KKR’s anchorman, but he played a rash shot and reduced KKR to 7/2.
Rinku Singh: Where is the finisher Rinku Singh fans know about? This was a poor outing for the southpaw, who perished for 2 runs off 9 balls. With KKR in trouble, Rinku failed to rotate the strike and looked disconnected in the middle. A brilliant ball by Chahal saw him get stumped. His dismissal saw KKR get reduced to 76/6 in the 13th over. Rinku wasted a mighty chance of making the difference for the Knights in this low-scoring affair.
