Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) faced off against the Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Tuesday, April 15.
Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings won against Ajinkya Rahane’s Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs in a nail-biting clash at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.
Also Read: Watch: Preity Zinta celebrates wildly like a kid; Andre Russell shattered as PBKS defend lowest IPL score
It is tough to talk right now and such wins make it special – Shreyas Iyer
Batting first, Punjab Kings had a horrible outing as they got all-out for a poor score of 111 runs. However, chasing the target, the PBKS bowlers stepped up and bowled out KKR for 95 in 15.1 overs.
All the Punjab Kings bowlers did a great job, but Yuzvendra Chahal was the best among them as he bagged a 4-wicket haul to help his team defend the lowest-ever score in IPL history.
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Shreyas Iyer was unable to express himself properly but revealed that he told Yuzvendra Chahal to control his breathing and get the job done. He stated:
“It is hard to express in words. I was just backing my instincts. I saw the ball turn a bit, asked Yuzi to control his breathing a bit. We needed to be attacking and the right players were in the right places. It is tough to talk right now and such wins make it special.”
When we saw Yuzi came in and turn the ball, our hopes and expectations were higher – Shreyas Iyer
While talking about the pitch, Shreyas Iyer said that it had an uneven bounce. He explained:
“I personally felt, when I went out to bat, I faced two balls – one stayed low and one hit the bottom of the bat, people were finding it difficult to sweep. There was variable bounce in the wicket, we got a decent total to be honest, looking at the win of 16 runs. The bounce was not consistent. We had this at the back of our mind and we asked the bowlers to keep this in mind. And they executed it.”
Shreyas Iyer further lauded his bowlers for starting off brilliantly and said that their hopes of winning got higher when Yuzvendra Chahal started turning the ball. In the end, Shreyas Iyer ordered his teammates to not get overhyped with the win and to stay humble. He stated:
“Two wickets in two overs that gave us that kind of momentum and the two batters came in and took the momentum towards them. When we saw Yuzi came in and turn the ball, our hopes and expectations were higher and I wanted the field to be attacking and right in front of their face so that they make mistakes and the tide turned towards us.
“It is important we stay humble and not get over-hyped with this win. It is important we take all the positives from this game and try to execute from ball one in the next game.”
How did PBKS perform in the previous IPL match against KKR?
On April 26 at Eden Gardens, Punjab Kings pulled off the highest successful run chase in T20 history by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets with 8 balls to spare. Chasing a massive target of 262, PBKS got home in 18.4 overs to register a historic win.
It wasn’t a smooth day with the ball for PBKS as KKR’s batting unit came out all guns blazing and took the bowlers to the cleaners. Sam Curran, Harshal Patel, and Kagiso Rabada all went over 15 runs per over, as the home side racked up a colossal total of 261/6.
Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS with his 2 wickets for 45 runs, including the scalps of Andre Russell and Shreyas Iyer. Rahul Chahar also chipped in with a crucial wicket of Sunil Narine, but overall, the bowlers failed miserably.
Chasing a mammoth total, Prabhsimran Singh provided PBKS with a stellar start with his 54 off just 20 balls. Jonny Bairstow then stole the show with a breathtaking 108* off 48 balls as he brought up his century in just 45 deliveries. He was well-supported by Shashank Singh, who smashed an unbeaten 68 off 28 balls, helping PBKS seal the victory.
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