It was a record-breaking evening in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) on Tuesday (April 15) as hosts Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs at the New PCA Stadium in Chandigarh. Defending a mere total of 112 runs, Punjab and Kolkata served a thriller for the fans. However, the win also saw PBKS script history on multiple fronts as we take a close look at their feats.

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Punjab Kings' win over Kolkata Knight Riders rewrites record books

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Having faced tough time with the bat, Yuzvendra Chahal (28/4) and Marco Jansen (17/3) led the foundation for Punjab’s historic win. PBKS broke Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) record of defending the lowest total in IPL history in a 20-over match. CSK earlier held the record for defending 116 against Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in May 2009.

The 16-run win on Tuesday will now stand as the lowest total defended in the tournament’s 17-year history in a 20-over match. The records books also have Royal Challengers Bengaluru and PBKS as the teams to defend 106 runs to win, but both of those matches were curtailed due to rain, meaning neither was played over 20 overs per side. RCB defended 106 against CSK in May 2013, but it was an eight-over per side match while PBKS defended same total against RCB in May 2015 when it was a 10-over per side contest.

Lowest totals defended in the IPL

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111 - PBKS vs KKR, Mullanpur, 2025

116/9 - CSK vs PBKS, Durban, 2009

118 - SRH vs MI, Mumbai WS, 2018

119/8 - PBKS vs MI, Durban, 2009

119/8 - SRH vs PWI, Pune, 2013

*excludes rain-affected games

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Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Hosts now hold a unique feat

Interestingly, after Tuesday’s encounter Punjab now hold the unique feat of defending the lowest total in a 20-over IPL match while they already hold the record of highest successful run chase. In April 2024, Punjab successful chased down 262-run target with eight balls to spare. Jonny Bairstow’s 108 off 48 and Shashank Singh’s 68 off 28 saw them embed their name in the record books. Further, to add more embarrassment to KKR, they were on the receiving end of both feats.