New Delhi: Punjab Kings (PBKS) were handed their first reality check of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 when Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat them by 50 runs at the New Chandigarh Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday. However, the loss didn’t bother PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer much, who was rather “glad” that it came early in the season. PBKS rode on two back-to-back wins, but their homecoming was spoiled by the RR outfit.
After the defeat, Iyer said that the reversal could work as a “wake-up” call for the team. The Royals had posted 205/4 in the first innings, on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 67, and Riyan Parag’s late flourish with a 43 not out. This is now the highest total at the newly constructed ground. In response, PBKS faltered under pressure and could just manage 155/9 in their stipulated 20 overs.
“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 (the defeat) happened at the start of the season,” Iyer said during the post-match presentation.
The defeat also ended the eight-match winning streak of Iyer as a captain as he previously led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to title-triumph in 2024. It is only Gautam Gambhir, with 10 wins on the trot, who has more wins as an IPL captain.
“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,” Iyer added.
PBKS to host CSK
PBKS will next host five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and it will be highly exciting to see what plans the two teams lay out to get the better of each other, specially after coming from a loss. While for PBKS, it won’t be much harder to get back to the winning momentum, the CSK side would have to make a lot of things go right if they are planning to revive themselves from three successive losses. The match will be held on Tuesday, April 8, at 7:30 pm IST.
(With PTI inputs)
Shreyas Iyer wasn’t disappointed with the first IPL 2025 defeat of Punjab Kings, that came at the hands of Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. Here’s what he said post-match. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
