Yuzvendra Chahal credits 'team effort' after starring in PBKS's incredible heist in low-scoring thriller against KKR

Yuzvendra Chahal announced himself with a four-wicket burst after a quiet start to the 2025 Indian Premier League as Punjab Kings pulled off a heist in Mullanpur on Tuesday with a 16-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders . KKR were staring at a comfortable victory, their second on the trot, after bundling PBKS out for a paltry 111 and cruising to 62/2 in the eighth over.

Veteran leg-spinner Chahal, however, turned the contest around in dramatic fashion with with a haul of 4/28 as the Kings bundled the Knight Riders out for just 95 in reply, setting a new record for the lowest total successfully defended in the IPL and recording only their third victory at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium, which replacing the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali as their home ground last year.

Chahal reveals PBKS’ mindset during the defence of their modest total

Chahal was a natural pick for the Player of the Match Award later that evening, but the 34-year-old insisted it was a “team effort” rather than a one-man job that helped Punjab Kings produce the comeback of a lifetime.

“It is a team effort. We wanted to be positive and we felt if we get two-three wickets in the powerplay then it will be good. We saw their spinners turn it and it helped us. When I bowled the first ball, it turned, Shreyas asked me if I wanted a slip, we wanted to be attacking as we had less runs and the only way we could win was by taking wickets,” Chahal said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

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“In the last game I conceded 56 for 4 overs, but I had full confidence and backed myself and my abilities. I always have the mindset of how to get the batters out, I varied my pace and if they have to hit, they will have to make an effort,” he added.

Our 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! ♟️ pic.twitter.com/A541sm62YY

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 15, 2025

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Left-arm pacer Marco Jansen also starred in the victory with a haul of 3/17 – castling explosive West Indian all-rounders Sunil Narine and Andre Russell as well as Harshit Rana. While Narine was cleaned up in the first over of KKR’s chase, Russell was the later Knight Riders batter to fall as he chopped the ball onto the stumps at the start of the 16th over.

Rana was the pick of the Kolkata bowlers earlier in the evening with a haul of 3/25 while Narine (2/14) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/21) collected a couple of wickets each as PBKS were bundled out for 111 after opting to bat. This despite a fiery opening partnership between Prabhsimran Singh (30) and Priyansh Arya (22) worth 39 in a little over three overs.

Shashank Singh later chipped in with a valuable 18 that included a four and a six to help PBKS cross the century mark.

Rahane shoulders responsibility for Knight Riders’ defeat

KKR had been reduced to 7/2 in their chase, with openers Narine and Quinton de Kock departing within the first two overs. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Impact Sub Angkrish Raghuvanshi, however, brought the team back on its feet and put them on course for an easy victory with 550run stand for the third wicket. While Rahane played the anchor, Raghuvanshi took the risks and smashed the ball to all parts of the ground.

Rahane’s dismissal shortly after the end of the powerplay however, opened the floodgates and proved to be the turning point in the match. And what made the moment even more heart-breaking was the fact that the Mumbaikar chose not to review the umpire’s decision after he was adjudged leg-before, with Hawk-Eye showing the ‘Impact’ to be outside off.

Had Rahane reviewed the decision and added another 10-15 runs with Raghuvanshi, Tuesday’s game might have had a very different outcome.

“Nothing to explain, we all saw what happened there. Pretty disappointed with the effort. I’ll take the blame, played the wrong shot, although it was missing. He wasn’t very sure (his chat with Angkrish after being given out LBW). He said it could be umpire’s call. I didn’t want to take a chance at that time, I wasn’t sure as well. That was the discussion.

“We batted really badly as a batting unit, we take full responsibility. Bowlers did really well on this surface, restricting a strong Punjab batting lineup to 111. As an individual, you still have to be confident and positive,” Rahane said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎. 𝙄𝙎. 𝘾𝙄𝙉𝙀𝙈𝘼 🎬#PBKS have pulled off one of the greatest thrillers in #TATAIPL history 😮

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/sZtJIQpcbx#PBKSvKKR | @PunjabKingsIPL pic.twitter.com/vYY6rX8TdG

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 15, 2025

Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer revealed after the game that he simply backed his instincts, while adding that the variable bounce in the Mullanpur wicket made it slightly tricky for batters on Tuesday evening.

“It is hard to express in words. I was just backing my instincts. I saw the ball turn a bit, asked Yuzi to control his breathing a bit. We needed to be attacking and the right players were in the right places,” Iyer, who had captained KKR to their third IPL title last year, said after leading PBKS to their fourth win in six games.

“I personally felt, when I went out to bat, I faced two balls - one stayed low and one hit the bottom of the bat, people were finding it difficult to sweep. There was variable bounce in the wicket, we got a decent total to be honest, looking at the win of 16 runs.

“The bounce was not consistent. We had this at the back of our mind and we asked the bowlers to keep this in mind. And they executed it,” he added.