Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Punjab Kings, recently shared his thoughts about the variety of matches in IPL 2025. He mentioned how exciting it is to be part of games that range from nail-biting low-scoring contests to explosive high-scoring encounters. This was evident when his team celebrated a five-wicket victory over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
The Punjab bowlers really stepped up in this match, delivering an outstanding performance that laid the groundwork for their victory against the home team. Despite facing a few tense moments, they managed to chase down a modest target of 96 runs in just the 13th over. Iyer explained that this season has been full of surprises, and the variety keeps things fresh. He said, “Variety is the spice of life. We’re getting to play all sorts of games, which makes it a tough but exciting challenge. I mostly went with my gut feeling while making decisions out there on the field, and thankfully, we were able to pick up wickets.”
One of his strategies involved not letting new batters get comfortable at the crease. He praised Marco, a bowler who excelled on the day, saying that he managed to extract some bounce from the pitch and bowled exceptionally well. Thanks to Marco’s efforts, along with those of the other bowlers, they managed to keep the opponents in check.
Punjab’s last two games have been real rollercoasters. They kicked things off with a bang, scoring an impressive 245 runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad when batting first. It looked like they were headed for a win until Abhishek Sharma came along with a brilliant century that turned the match around, resulting in an eight-wicket loss for Punjab.
Following that, in a game against the defending champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders, things took a hit again. Punjab struggled at the crease, getting bowled out for a mere 111 runs. Just when it seemed like they were destined to lose, Yuzvendra Chahal pulled off an amazing four-wicket haul, securing a surprise victory for Punjab by bowling Kolkata out for just 95 runs, giving them a 16-run win.
Most recently, the match on Friday had to be shortened due to rain, limiting the play to 28 overs. Despite the challenges, Punjab still managed to claim a win. Iyer shared his thoughts about how the pitch might react, admitting they weren’t entirely sure how it would play out. He had a chat with Arshdeep, who pointed out that hard length deliveries were tough to hit, and they didn’t see any sixes hit off fast bowlers, which showed just how tricky the conditions were.
Looking ahead, Iyer and his team are gearing up for their next match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru again, this time at their home ground on Sunday, April 20. It’s a busy season for them, and they’re hoping to build on their recent successes.
