The top four in Punjab Kings’ batting order aggregated 166. Lucknow Super Giants’ top four managed 37. That sums up Sunday’s game in Dharamsala.

That Punjab Kings won the match was no surprise, the fate of the game was decided much before the last ball was bowled, but Shreyas Iyer’s team would surely rue not being able to record a bigger victory than their 37-run win as it hurt their net run rate, which can turn out to be crucial as the race for the playoffs get crowded.

Asked to bat first, Punjab, powered by opener Prabhsimran Singh’s 91 off 48 balls, put up a commanding 236/5. The chase was steep, but then no target is too tall in T20s nowadays. For that, though, the Giants needed to have an extraordinary day with the bat.

They could not, as Punjab pacer Arshdeep Singh got rid of three of the Giants’ top four. With Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran all gone cheaply by the fifth over of the chase, the match was as good as over. Rishabh Pant’s poor run continued, but Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad put up a gutsy resistance to eat into Punjab’s margin of victory.

Badoni, batting at No. 5, played a delightful innings of 74 off 40 balls, while Samad blasted 45 off 24 balls. But it was never going to be enough and the Giants ultimately finished on 199/7.

Earlier, it was a Prabhsimran show, who hit more sixes (7) than fours (6). The other Punjab batters too flaunted their big-hitting skills as Josh Inglis, Shreyas and Shashank Singh all got runs.

The win took Punjab to the second spot on the points table with 15 points, while the Giants stare at a difficult road ahead in the quest for a playoffs spot.