Shreyas Iyer says he controlled nerves with breathing in high-stakes PBKS vs MI

Punjab Kings secured a thrilling five-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 on Sunday, booking their spot in the final. Leading from the front, skipper Shreyas Iyer delivered a match-winning performance, anchoring the chase with an unbeaten 87 off just 41 balls. His explosive innings featured five fours and eight towering sixes, playing a pivotal role in Punjab`s successful pursuit.

“I don`t know to be honest, I love such big occasions. I always say to myself and to my colleagues in the team that the bigger the occasion, the calmer you are, you get the big results,” Iyer said during the post-match presentation ceremony. “Today was a right example where I was focusing more on my breathing rather than sweating out there.”

He added that spending more time on the field allows him to read the game better and gain a clearer perspective of the match.

“All players need to be assertive and show that intent from ball one. The intent was stupendous and even for me, I had to take some time. From the other end, the batsmen were striking pretty well. I know the more time I spend on the field, the better I get and my vision also gets better,” he concluded.

Despite suffering a loss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya was nothing short of praising Iyer for his match-winning knock. “The way Shreyas batted, took his chances and some of the shots he played were really outstanding and I think they definitely batted really well,” said Pandya. 

When asked about where they lost the match, Pandya stated that his side fell short in executing the right approach in the second innings.

“I think it was par, but it needed some great execution as a bowling unit which I think in these big games it really matters and as I mentioned they were really calm, put us under pressure and I think we were not able to execute the way we wanted,” added the 31-year-old.

Following a loss in the all-important Eliminator clash of the IPL 2025, Hardik did not want to blame the wicket, but agreed to the fact that his bowlers failed to put up a show against Punjab.

“I will not put it on the wicket, if we had to something better it was maybe someone bowling right lengths or maybe right bowler at the right point, the result could have been a bit different. Boom knowing the situation if even 18 balls are left, Jassi can be Jassi. And he can do something special and it just didn`t happen today,” concluded Mumbai`s skipper.

(With PTI Inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day