Led by Shreyas Iyer's maiden IPL century, Punjab Kings ended their six-match losing streak and kept themselves in contention for a berth in the playoffs by beating Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets. PBKS was able to chase down 197 with two overs left thanks to Iyer's ton. The victory has pushed them back to the top-four on the points table, but their qualification to the playoffs is dependent on the results of the games on Sunday. In the must-win game, the captain stood up to the challenge, scored his maiden IPL century and took the team over the line. He batted at the loss of two early wickets, kept the chase steady and under control with calculated attack, and scored a six-over long-on to win. Josh Inglis got Lucknow Super Giants off to a flying start, crunching four boundaries in the opening over. Ayush Badoni took charge against Marco Jansen and Azmatullah Omarzai, helping LSG pick 42 runs off the last two overs of the Powerplay. Arshin Kulkarni and Nicholas Pooran were cheaply dropped in three quiet overs sandwiched between these two ends of the powerplay, and PBKS only gave up eight runs in those overs. Soon after the powerplay, Badoni was sent back courtesy of smart work by Prabhsimran Singh behind the wickets. Tricked by a Yuzvendra Chahal faster delivery, Badoni missed a cut. But he went ahead with his full movement of his body and lifted his leg, when the 'keeper cleverly whipped off the bails. Badoni's brief blitz had bailed LSG out after a stuttered start, and it was the turn of Inglis - who had largely witnessed the carnage from the other end, to take over. The opener broke free against Vijaykumar Vyshak after a few relatively quiet overs, clubbing the pacer for a boundary and a six. Having managed only 27 runs off his first 22 deliveries, Inglis tore into the PBKS bowlers. Arshdeep Singh bore the brunt of that attack in the 12th over, when the pacer was taken apart for 19 runs. He even tried to get Shashank Singh, but he lost to the medium-pacer. He added 45 off his next 22 balls, though. Rishabh Pant's troubles were mounting. The LSG batter did score a couple of runs in his first at-bat, but he looked just as shaky as he has all season. He struggled his way to a 22-ball 26 In the second half of LSG's innings, Shashank had gone less than 10 runs per over in three overs. In the final over, Vyshak and Jansen also managed a few quiet overs, but Abdul Samad's streaky boundaries against Arshdeep Singh in the final over allowed the total to rise to a competitive 192. For the fifth time this season, Mohammed Shami struck in his first over - this time, getting Priyansh Arya to hurry on a pull and top edge a catch to mid wicket off the first ball. He pegged LSG back further by cleaning up Cooper Connolly two overs later. Despite the two early wickets, and no sixes hit in the Powerplay, Punjab Kings motored along at a brisk pace, with at least one boundary hit in each over. Prabhsimran and Iyer had made the necessary start to their innings by the end of the Powerplay, and with 65 runs on the board, they were maintaining the required rate. Pant attacked the pair with tight lines and steep bounce by using two left-arm seamers from either end, Arjun Tendulkar and Mohsin Khan. Prabhsimran appeared to be having some trouble, and he even made it through a chance when he gloved a ball to the 'keeper. However, he kept changing his position at the crease to get the bowler's lengths off balance, and he was able to do so to some degree. The decision paid off. He continued on to a fifth century, this time achieving the milestone in just 28 balls. The 'keeper-bat survived another chance when Badoni spilled a straight chance at cover. After careful review of the replays by the third umpire, the decision was made in the batter's favor. However, that life was short-lived as he was caught leg before leg in the subsequent over to Arjun, becoming the pacer's first season-ending victim. However, by then, Prabhsimran had done the required damage and almost sealed the fate of the contest. At the final out, the required rate was just 7-an-over due to the 140-run stand. Assured, unbothered and in control. Shreyas appeared to be in control of his innings when he came in to bat after two early wickets had been lost. He was unhurried in his approach, and he was in control of taking out all of the bowlers. When the ball was in his position, he was willing to initiate the offense and hold back when he wanted to. He played the hook, the cut, and was confident when he looked to go down the track. He minimised the shots on the up, but brought up his century off the last ball of PBKS' innings to seal the chase as well as bringing up his century. The Punjab Kings have returned to the top four. But whether their campaign will last any longer will be decided in less than 24 hours. PBKS will be eliminated from the tournament if Mumbai Indians defeat the Rajasthan Royals. The same is true if KKR defeat DC by at least 77 runs or reach their goal in 12.1 overs or less (assuming a score of 200 in the first innings). Lucknow Super Giants, on the other hand, have won just four matches and are likely to finish at the bottom, unless MI lose their game by a big margin and take the 10th spot because of an inferior NRR. Meanwhile, with PBKS' victory, Delhi Capitals are now out of contention for the playoffs.