Punjab Kings continued their rampant run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign, beating Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a rain-hit encounter to go second in the points table. PBKS didn’t have a big target to chase after the game was reduced to 14 overs per side, with RCB only managing to put 95 runs on the board. Arshdeep Singh bagged wickets at the top before Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar began to construct a fine fightback. It was then that Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer brought Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack and limited Patidar’s knock to 23 runs off 18 balls.

After the game, Iyer revealed the words he had with Chahal, inspiring him to deliver his best against the franchise that let him go in 2021. Chahal ended up removing Patidar and Jitesh Sharma, picking 2 wickets for just 11 runs in 3 overs. 

“I personally had a chat with him and told him that you are a match-winner and you need to get us as many wickets as possible…He has a capability of bouncing back, and he is one of the best bowlers in the IPL,” he noted.

Iyer also praised the unpredictability of T20 cricket, saying, “Variety is the spice of life, and we are here to experience all kinds of games here; it’s a great challenge.”

The PBKS skipper, who lifted the IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders last year, also opened up about his on-field decisions during the game, admitting they were largely instinctive.

“There was no thinking, to be honest, I was just taking instinctive moves. I just didn’t want new batters to come in and settle in. Jansen was getting a lot of bounce, and he was bowling lethally,” he added.

Marco Jansen indeed proved to be a game-changer, returning excellent figures of 2/10, using the surface’s bounce to his advantage.

The PBKS skipper also credited his bowlers for quickly adapting to the conditions.

“To be honest, we didn’t know how the wicket was going to feel, but the bowlers adapted to it. I had a chat with Arshdeep, and he said the hard-length balls were hard to hit. That was the chatter in the middle, and they executed brilliantly,” he noted.

Nehal Wadhera, who finished the game with an unbeaten 33 off 19 balls, earned special praise from Iyer.

“His approach was wonderful today,” Iyer said.

With ANI Inputs