IPL 2026: Punjab Kings slip from top spot after loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad

New Delhi: Punjab Kings had hoped ​to tighten their grip on top spot in ‌the Indian ​Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday but a succession of dropped catches saw them fall to a third straight defeat and allowed Sunrisers Hyderabad to climb above them.Hyderabad batter Ishan Kishan (55) was dropped twice, while Heinrich Klaasen ⁠capitalised on an early reprieve to smash 69 and power the hosts to 235-4 in their 20 overs.Punjab managed only 202 in reply, though captain Shreyas Iyer ‌said they should have been shooting for a much lower target."We dropped many catches at the start, we could ‌have easily reduced their score by 30-40 runs," ‌he added."Unfortunately, we were not able to take ‌catches, I think that was ‌the biggest setback for us in today's game - definitely something to reflect ​on and come ‌back stronger."Leg-spinner Yuzvendra ​Chahal created two chances only ⁠to see both spilled, bringing to eight the number of catches that have been grassed off his bowling this ​season.Teammate ⁠Shashank Singh has ⁠dropped five catches in his last three matches.Spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said players like Kishan and Klaasen punish teams ⁠if given a second chance."It was very important to take those catches because they are such players that if you tend to drop catches, they will score and score quickly," he told a press conference."I definitely ‌think catching could have changed the momentum of the game. There would ​have been fresh batters on the pitch and we could have executed our plans more effectively and then ended up maybe giving more than 50 runs less."