New Delhi: Ice in his veins and fire in his eyes, Shreyas Iyer batted like a man possessed as he powered Punjab Kings (PBKS) into their first Indian Premier League (IPL) final in 11 years with a stunning knock against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Qualifier 2 on Sunday. Iyer’s unbeaten 87 helped Punjab Kings chase down the tricky target of 204 runs with an over to spare to set up a mouth-watering title-clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final.
Mumbai Indians came up with all they could, but there was little they could do to stop the indomitable force that was Iyer as the Punjab Kings skipper dispatched the bowlers into the stands with some conviction. Even the full-proof Jasprit Bumrah proved ineffective as Iyer countered his yorkers to perfection, on his way to guiding his team to a clinical six-wicket victory.
Iyer hit eight towering sixes and 5 fours en route to his stellar knock, single-handedly taking Punjab Kings into their first final since 2014. However, there was one particular shot that stood out. It was Iyer’s counter to a lethal yorker from the dangerous Bumrah on the first ball of the 18th over of PBKS’ run chase that stood out.
The yorker from Bumrah seemed destined to be crashing into Iyer’s middle stump, and even the slightest of error in judgement would have led to the stumps getting rattled. But Iyer nonchalantly guided it past the keeper with surgical precision to get a boundary off it, leaving everyone in awe with a magnificent piece of skill.
The magnificent shot from Iyer was crowned the ‘Shot of IPL 2025’ by AB de Villiers, a man who was known for some of the most audacious strokes during his playing days. The praise was not limited as many hailed the shot from Iyer as the ‘Shot of the Tournament’.
“Shot of the IPL for me. It is hitting the middle stump. It is the perfect yorker & you can’t get it away. That is breaking the bottom of the bat, that is breaking my stumps as well if I am facing that, and Shreyas put it away for four,” De Villiers said on JioHotstar after the match.
Watch Shreyas Iyer plays ‘Shot of IPL 2025’ against Jasprit Bumrah:
I can’t get over this short of shreyas iyer against boult and bumrah you fucking beauty 🥵 @ShreyasIyer15 pic.twitter.com/JX3kF4LY2S
— finding🕉️🇮🇳 (@mediaculprit_) June 2, 2025
Shreyas Iyer takes 3rd team into IPL final
While he has been leading from the front with the bat for Punjab Kings, Iyer has also been excellent in the leadership role. The Mumbai batter, who was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) despite guiding them to their third title last season, has now become the first captain to take three teams into an IPL final.
He led Delhi Capitals (DC) to their maiden IPL final in 2020, where they lost to Mumbai Indians. Iyer helped Kolkata Knight Riders reach the final of IPL 2024 last year and led them to a thumping victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad to lift the title. The 30-year-old has now taken Punjab Kings into the final and will be aiming to become the first captain to win IPL titles with two different teams.
Shreyas Iyer’s brilliant shot to get a boundary with surgical precision off a pin-point yorker from Jasprit Bumrah in the Qualifier 2 has been dubbed as the ‘Shot of IPL 2025’ by many. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
