Lungi Ngidi came into the attack and started with disciplined lines, as Shreyas Iyer opened the over cautiously, defending the first delivery before working one fine to deep leg for a single. Cooper Connolly then edged one safely down to third man for another run.
But Shreyas soon shifted gears. After a quiet restart to his innings, he picked his moment and launched a clean six -- Punjab Kings' first maximum since the early overs, breaking a long boundary drought and lifting the tempo instantly. He followed it up with a calm single, while Connolly had a narrow escape when a delivery just missed the leg stump.
Ngidi's over still went for 9 runs, with Punjab Kings reaching 125 for 2 after 12 overs.
Mukesh Kumar continued the attack, and Shreyas stayed busy -- rising on his toes to punch one into the square-leg region for a single. Connolly survived a close call as well, beaten on the outside edge. The batters kept things ticking with singles, before Shreyas finished the over in style, cutting away a boundary.
Another controlled over for Punjab Kings -- 8 runs from it, taking them to 133 for 2 after 13 overs, with Shreyas anchoring the innings and gradually rebuilding momentum.
