New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Punjab Kings spinner Yuzvendra Chahal admitted relief was the overriding emotion after his side snapped a six-match losing streak with a crucial seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants to stay alive in the IPL 2026 playoff race.

Powered by skipper Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 101 off 51 balls and a 140-run partnership with Prabhsimran Singh, Punjab chased down 197 in just 18 overs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday to climb to fourth on the table.

The result ended a difficult stretch for Punjab, who had won six of their opening seven games before suffering six consecutive defeats that pushed their campaign to the brink. Reflecting on finally returning to winning ways after nearly a month, Chahal said the biggest challenge during the slump was maintaining belief within the group.

“When you win six of your first seven matches and then go on to lose the next six, after a point, there’s nothing left to say. How you keep the team together and the environment close-knit becomes key. So, there were never any negative thoughts. Even during practice, the focus was on ourselves and how we could get those two points because it had been almost a month since we last won a game. So, this win feels special,” Chahal said on JioHotstar after the game.

Punjab’s playoff hopes, however, still depend on other results. They now need the Mumbai Indians to beat Rajasthan Royals on Sunday to remain in contention, while Kolkata Knight Riders can still overtake them on net run-rate with a massive win over Delhi Capitals.

Chahal, though, joked about temporarily switching allegiances for Sunday’s clash at the Wankhede Stadium.

“We will be in Lucknow only. Hopefully, RR lose tomorrow and Rohit Sharma scores 200 directly, it’s been a long time,” he said.

The leg-spinner then turned serious while analysing the playoff permutations and Mumbai’s chances against Rajasthan.

“But on a serious note, I think our chances depend more on the day game because KKR might have to chase down a total in 11-12 overs, which can be a bit difficult. It’s Wankhede, a small ground, so if they get Vaibhav out cheaply, I think Mumbai Indians’ chances of winning will be high,” the spinner stated.

Chahal also offered an insight into the growing difficulties faced by bowlers in modern T20 cricket, pointing to flatter pitches, aggressive batting approaches and the Impact Player rule as factors that have shifted the balance heavily in favour of batters.

“Earlier, you used to get a little bit of turn and assistance from the wickets, but in the last two years, I don’t think the wickets have offered much help. Maybe apart from Hyderabad, where I got it to grip a bit because it was slow and the boundaries were big. But apart from that, every ground seems to be flat,” he mentioned.

According to Chahal, the rise in scoring rates has fundamentally changed the way bowlers approach games as he said, “Earlier, teams were okay with a 50-run powerplay, but these days, 65-70 has become the norm. That means when I come on to bowl, I’m often bowling to a set batter already on 40 or 50, and then there’s an extra batter to counter because of the Impact Player rule. So, as a bowler, you are under immense pressure. Even when a team is six or seven wickets down, you know there are still batters to come. So, it is challenging.”

Despite the increasingly batter-friendly nature of the tournament, Chahal believes skill still allows bowlers to remain effective in high-scoring conditions.

“But I still feel that if you have skill, you can bowl well. Because of these high scores, if a bowler goes for 40 in four overs, it’s not considered bad these days,” he concluded.

–IANS

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