Punjab Kings suffered their first loss, and skipper Shreyas Iyer mentioned that the defeat could act as a “wake-up” call for his players. Rajasthan Royals, was led by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 67 and Riyan Parag’s 43 not out, which ultimately set the score of 205/4, the highest at the ground. In reply, Punjab Kings were unable to handle the pressure, getting bowled out for 155/9 as their highly touted homecoming was a disappointment.
8-Match Wining Winning Streak Ends For Iyer
The loss put an end to Iyer’s eight-match winning streak as captain in two franchises, Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and PBKS this year. Gautam Gambhir alone has a longer winning streak as IPL captain, with 10 successive wins. Iyer did admit that the defeat had something to learn from, especially in both batting and bowling units. He also praised Nehal Wadhera for his resistance fifty against pressure, which ensured PBKS were in the match after they struggled at 43/4 during the Power Play
“Not Able To Execute Plans” Said Shreyas
“I thought that we would be conceding around 180-185 that would have been a great total to chase. We gave away a few extra runs, were not able to execute according to our plans. Glad that it happened at the start of the season,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation.
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Punjab Kings Needed “Wake-Up Call”
“This is just the third match, you need a slight hiccup at the start to wake you up and glad that it happened right now. We need to go back to the drawing board and come back strong next game,” said Iyer
“Many things to learn from this game. Today there was no dew. We cannot be blaming that. We need to go back to the drawing board and see the videos of where we were not able to execute with the bowling.
“In the batting, we could be focusing on building partnerships. We also lost back-to-back wickets. It is not easy for a new batter to get going.”
