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The Shreyas Iyer-led team pulled off one of the most unexpected come-from-behind wins in Indian Premier League history against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Shreyas Iyer and Yuzvendra Chahal celebrate after their win in the IPL game against Kolkata Knight Riders (Picture credit: AP)
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has said that when he saw the ball turning a bit on a pace-friendly Mullanpur wicket, he asked star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to control his breathing and keep doing what he was doing, as the latter’s four-wicket-haul helped Punjab pull off a massive heist over the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Iyer-led team pulled off one of the most unexpected come-from-behind wins in Indian Premier League history against Kolkata.
It was the lowest total defended in the tournament’s history, bettering the paltry 116 the Chennai Super Kings defended against Kings XI Punjab back in 2009.
“It is hard to express in words. I was just backing my instincts. I saw the ball turn a bit, asked Yuzi to control his breathing a bit. We needed to be attacking, and the right players were in the right places,” Iyer said while speaking at the post-match presentation.
Iyer requested his team to remain on their feet despite the brilliant victory over Kolkata, the defending champions.
“When we saw Yuzi came in and turned the ball, our hopes and expectations were higher, and I wanted the field to be attacking and right in front of their face so that they make mistakes and the tide turned towards us,” Iyer said.
The victory over Kolkata was Punjab’s fourth in six games, propelling them to fourth on the IPL 2025 points table with a net run rate of 0.17.
The game seemed to have opened up when Venkatesh Iyer was ruled out LBW off Glenn Maxwell in the 11th over, with the third umpire upholding the on-field umpire’s decision after a long look.
Chahal then turned the game on its head as he removed the dangerous Rinku Singh (2), who was foxed by a ball that sneaked between his bat and pad, for Josh Inglis to do the rest behind the stumps.
There was no stopping Chahal as he dismissed Ramandeep Singh (0) in the next delivery to leave Kolkata at a precarious 76/7 in the 12th over.
PBKS play their next game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 18 at the latter’s home and will look to continue their winning momentum.
