Shreyas Iyer was 'locked in' since losing to RCB; PBKS captain issues warning ahead of IPL final: 'Throw it in the bin'

Three nights ago in Mullanpur would have been one of the longest nights of Shreyas Iyer's career. The Punjab Kings captain, despite leading his team to the top of the IPL 2025 points table, endured one of the toughest losses of the season. PBKS, facing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1, were shredded to pieces. PBKS's top order was wrecked, so much so that at one stage, getting to even 100 looked a herculean task. Although somehow, they breached it, the result of the match was already a foregone conclusion by then. RCB annihilated them by eight wickets and booked themselves a place in the final. Shreyas Iyer is on a mission(AP)

Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, were carving their own redemption story, and after RCB, if there was one team that could really land a kick to PBKS' gut. But on the night that mattered, Punjab Kings, and Shreyas Iyer in particular, had an answer to everything MI threw at them, including rain, Mumbai's proud 200-plus totals in the Playoffs, the consistency of Suryakumar Yadav and of course, the ever-so-dangerous Jasprit Bumrah to smash their way into the final. The IPL 2025 is guaranteed to have a new winner, and truth be told, no two teams deserve it more than RCB and Punjab Kings, two OGs from the lot of eight 18 years ago.

Shreyas was the personification of calmness and composure as he displayed tremendous maturity and played arguably the innings of this season. Chasing over 200 in a knockout, Shreyas, from 19 off 15 at one point, finished unbeaten on 87, his knock laced with eight sixes, to give himself and Punjab Kings one more crack at RCB in the final showdown tomorrow.

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer's 87 not out guides Punjab to convincing win, to face RCB in final

"I love such big occasions and I always say to myself and my colleagues that the bigger the occasion, the calmer you are and you'll get the best results. Today I was focusing a lot on my breathing rather than sweating out a lot out there," Iyer said after the match. "When I went out there I had to take some time, but the batsman at the other end he was striking pretty well. I know the more time I spend on the field, the better I play and my vision also gets better."

Shreyas Iyer's subtle warning

After the loss to RCB, Iyer said, 'We lost the battle but not the war', and going by his remarks for his opposition, the showdown may actually be nothing less than one as the Punjab Kings issued an indirect warning to RCB. PBKS do have a bone to pick with RCB, having lost to them twice this season. As to whether the loss promises to have any impact whatsoever, Iyer was ruthless with his comment.

"Just throw the imagination and hiccup in the bin and not think too much about where we went wrong because through the season, we have been playing some amazing and the intent and positivity was imperative from the first game and one match cannot define us as a team."

I was locked in, admits Shreyas Iyer

One standout feature of Iyer throughout the knock was just how unnerved and unperturbed he looked by the situation. Six or a dot ball, the expressions on his face did not change. And it remained that way until he came for the presentation ceremony. Still hit by the loss three evenings ago, Iyer's admission that he was 'locked in' told the story. By the looks of it, he appeared in a daze today, but in reality, the seeds were sown the other night in New Chandigarh. "Yeah, I was locked in," he said.

Click here to read article