Introduction
In the history of the Indian Premier League, no team has ever defended a total as low as 111. Until IPL 2025. Punjab Kings, having posted a modest 111 in their 20 overs — a total that most T20 analysts would call indefensible in a competition where 150 is considered par — bowled out Kolkata Knight Riders for 95. KKR fell 17 runs short of a target that every statistical model in cricket said they should reach comfortably. The match is one of the most remarkable results in the competition’s 18 seasons.
How PBKS Were Bowled Out for 111
PBKS batted first and were never comfortable. The KKR bowlers — led by Sunil Narine’s 3 wickets in the powerplay — dismissed the top order cheaply and repeatedly. The PBKS innings had no real anchor innings: no single batter reached 30. They were bowled out in 19.5 overs. In the dressing room after the innings, PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer reportedly told his bowlers that 111 was gettable — that the pitch was doing enough, that conditions favoured disciplined bowling, and that KKR’s batting lineup had weaknesses that the PBKS attack could exploit. What followed was one of the most extraordinary defensive bowling performances in IPL history.
How KKR Were Bowled Out for 95
Yuzvendra Chahal was the primary architect of KKR’s collapse — his 4/28 dismantled the middle order. But the entire PBKS bowling unit contributed. Arshdeep Singh took 2 wickets in the powerplay, removing Sunil Narine and Phil Salt before they could establish the platform KKR needed. The middle-order batters — Rinku Singh, Andre Russell — arrived in situations where the required run-rate was building but the pitch was not helping them manufacture the big shots they needed. Each dismissal increased the pressure on the next batter geometrically. By the time KKR’s lower order arrived, the task was simply too big. They were bowled out for 95 — 16 runs short of the target. It was their lowest total of the season.
What This Match Proved About T20 Cricket
The PBKS vs KKR match is one of T20 cricket’s most useful statistical anomalies. It demonstrates, conclusively, that in T20 cricket — even at the highest level — no total is truly indefensible if the bowling attack is good enough and the pitch conditions are right. The gap between batting and bowling in T20 cricket is not as wide as the scoring data in recent seasons suggests. KKR arrived at this match having recently been on the right side of extraordinary batting performances. They expected to chase 111 comfortably. The pitch, the bowling, and PBKS’s disciplined execution told a different story. It is a story every T20 franchise needs to read before they write off a chase — or abandon a target they’ve just set.
DID YOU KNOW? The previous lowest total successfully defended in IPL history before PBKS’s 111 was 117, defended by Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals. PBKS’s 111 defence broke a record that had stood for years and may never be broken again.
Final Verdict 111 defended. 95 all out for KKR. One of the most improbable results in 18 seasons of IPL cricket. A reminder that in T20, the bowling side always has a say.