Punjab Kings continued their brilliant run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign, defending Royal Challengers Bangalore to second place in the numeral table in a rain-hit encounter. PBK did not have a major goal to pursue the game, when RCB was reduced to RCB only to put 95 runs on the board. Arshdeep Singh took wickets at the top before starting the construction of a good fightback from Bangalore captain Rajat Patidar. This was when Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer brought Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack and limited Patidar’s knock for 23 runs off three balls.
After the game, Iyer revealed the words with Chahal, which inspired him to give him his best against the franchise, which allowed him to go in 2021. Chahal removed Patidar and Jitesh Sharma, taking 2 wickets for just 11 runs in 3 overs.
He said, “I personally made a chat with him and told him that you are a match-winner and you need to get as much wickets as possible … he has the ability to jump back, and he is one of the best bowlers in the IPL,” he said.
Iyer also praised the unexpectedness of T20 cricket, saying, “Diversity is a spice of life, and we are here to experience all kinds of sports; this is a big challenge.”
PBK Skipar, who raised the IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders last year, also opened about his on-field decisions during the game, admitting that he was largely comfortable.
He said, “There was no thinking, to be honest, I was just taking easy tricks. I didn’t want the new batsmen to come in and go in. Jenson was getting a lot of bounce, and was bowling fatly,” he said.
Marco Jansen actually proved to be a game-changer, using surface bounce for its benefit, returned the 2/10 excellent figures.
PBKS Skipar also credited his bowlers to adopt the situation quickly for the circumstances.
“To be honest, we didn’t know how the wicket was going to feel, but the bowlers customized it. I had a chat with Arshdeep, and he said that the hard-length balls were difficult to hit. It was a nonsense in the middle, and he executed brilliantly,” he said.
Nehal Wadera, who finished the game with an unbeaten 33 off 19 balls, earned special praise from Iyer.
“His approach was amazing today,” said Iyer.
With Annie Input
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