Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has been fined ₹12 lakh following a slow over-rate offence during their Indian Premier League 2026 opener against the Gujarat Titans.
Despite the penalty, PBKS began their campaign on a winning note, edging past GT by three wickets in a closely contested encounter.
According to an official IPL release, the breach falls under Article 2.22 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which deals with minimum over-rate violations.
Since this was PBKS’s first offence of the season, only a monetary fine was imposed on Iyer, avoiding harsher sanctions.
Match Summary & Key Performances
PBKS produced a disciplined bowling effort to restrict GT to 162/6. Veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/28) controlled the middle overs effectively, while pacer Vyshak Vijayakumar picked up three crucial wickets.
Chasing 163, Punjab faced moments of instability, largely due to Prasidh Krishna’s impressive spell.
However, debutant Cooper Connolly emerged as the standout performer, scoring an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls.
His composed innings, supported by Prabhsimran Singh’s quick 37, ensured PBKS crossed the finish line with five balls to spare.
For GT, skipper Shubman Gill (39) and Jos Buttler (38) made starts but failed to convert them into match-defining scores.
