46th match of 2026 ipl There was a lot of excitement in the season at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, but the result after that was pleasant. Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer. In a competition that swings like a pendulum, Shubman Gill‘S Gujarat Titans (GT) The target of 164 runs was achieved with four wickets and one ball to spare. While fans celebrated the win in the last over, former India stars came down heavily on Iyer’s tactical decisions, leading to PBKS’ second consecutive defeat in the tournament.
Shreyas Iyer is on target of former Indian cricketers after PBKS’ consecutive defeats in IPL 2026
Cricket fraternity led by the great opening batsman Virender Sehwag And former mainstay of KKR Manoj TiwariHas pointed fingers at Iyer’s bowling rotation. The main bone of contention was the under-utilisation of the experienced leg spinner. Yuzvendra ChahalWho was brought in late in the 14th over and bowled only six balls.
Sehwag was candid in his assessment, suggesting that Iyer’s reliance on his pace battery had backfired when the final hurdle came. With 11 runs to defend in the last over, Iyer opted out marcus stoinis Instead of a specialist seamer.
“I think Shreyas Iyer’s calculation was a bit wrong because he had to give the last over to Stoinis. Had that last over been bowled by Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett or Marco Jansen, perhaps PBKS could have won this match, with 11 runs to defendSehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag further stressed that Chahal should have been used to neutralize GT’s top order at the start of the game.
“It was Shreyas Iyer’s decision not to bowl to Chahal and use his main bowlers till the 19th over and hope that they take wickets. Iyer must have also felt that this match will not end like this. Chahal was not used in the middle overs where he should have bowled. I think it probably would have been better if he was brought into the attack earlier. He could bowl against Butler“He said.
Manoj Tiwary echoed these sentiments, highlighting a growing trend where captains are hesitant to bowl wrist spinners against left-handed batsmen.
“A mistake has been made. According to me, it is not completely right to blame Shreyas Iyer for this because when Chahal was brought in, he gave 13 runs. But, he had to take a decision on fielding him against two left-handed batsmen, who might give more runs or not. But I think you should always go with your experienced bowlers. If he gets hit in the first over, there is no guarantee that he will score runs again.Tiwari said.
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PBKS suffer consecutive defeats in IPL 2026 league stage
The scorecard paints a picture of a missed opportunity for Punjab. Batting first, PBKS struggled after a poor start Priyansh Arya And cooper connolly Went in the very first over. Iyer (19) and Stoinis (40 off 31) tried to rebuild, but it happened Suryansh Shedge’s An explosive inning of 57 runs in 29 balls took them to 163/9. jason holder Was the lead destroyer for GT, finishing with impressive figures of 4/24.
In response, GT was pursued Sai SudarshanWho played a steady inning of 57 runs in 41 balls. despite this Arshdeep Singh (2/24) and vijaykumar vaishya (2/31) The match dragged on till the final over, keeping PBKS in the hunt. washington beautiful (23* out of 40) and Arshad Khan (8 out of 5*) Stayed calm against Stoinis, sealing Gujarat’s win with the score at 167/6 in 19.5 overs. After this defeat, Punjab Kings are struggling to find answers as the race for the playoffs has intensified.
