One year to the day after ending KKR’s title drought, Shreyas Iyer had reached another IPL final, this time with Punjab Kings. Iyer led a captain’s masterclass in Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians at Ahmedabad. In a chase of 204, he smacked an unbeaten 87 to guide PBKS to their maiden IPL 2025 final against RCB on June 3.
The last time the Punjab Kings had reached an IPL final was in 2014. With this, they surely seem justified in backing Shreyas Iyer. For the surprise of some, he was let go before IPL 2025 despite leading KKR to a trophy in 2024. Instead of retaining their title-winning captain, KKR chose to splash ₹23.75 crore on Venkatesh Iyer.
Iyer has lived up to every expectation at PBKS. The second most expensive player in the history of the league, the 30-year-old has led by example with bat and brain. He has now amassed 603 runs in 16 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 175.80, hitting 39 sixes-this is more than any other player this season.
Last season everyone acknowledged Gambhir for leading the charge in KKR's victory. This year it's been leadership through action by Shreyas. He is now the first ever to captain three different franchises into the IPL finals; nobody else has even done it twice. After PBKS faltered, Shreyas stepped up against MI. Mumbai had never lost a match defending a total above 200 until Iyer played that unbeaten 87. The only higher captain's score made in an IPL playoff is David Warner's 93* for GL against RCB in 2016 Qualifier 2.
It is much more than one knock-Both in terms of series and in terms of the year, Shreyas has navigated PBKS somewhat intelligently. He has supported his young, uncapped batsmen-prabhsimran Singh scoring 500 plus runs and given opportunities to Priyansh Arya and Nehal Wadhera, who delivered when it mattered. Arshdeep Singh-the perennial menace with the ball-and the team have coped well with the inconsistent form of Yuzvendra Chahal.
Read also:
With his batting and his thinking, Iyer has taken PBKS close to a historic moment. Being among the original franchises yet to lift the trophy, the PBKS now stand one win away. Ironically, they meet another such team-RCB. From one season to another, Shreyas has dominated Ahmedabad; now he intends to end everything on Tuesday in the final.
