Punjab Kings Captain Shreyas Iyer Reflects on Heartbreaking Loss in Qualifier 1

Punjab Kings Face Disappointment in Qualifier 1

Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], May 29: Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Punjab Kings, maintained his composure despite his team's disappointing defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 held in Mullanpur on Thursday.

The day proved challenging for Punjab as they lost the toss, were compelled to bat first, and suffered a collapse in their batting lineup, leaving their bowlers with little to defend.

Bengaluru dominated the match, easily chasing down Punjab's meager total of 101 runs, securing an 8-wicket victory with 60 balls remaining—one of the swiftest wins in the league's history.

Shreyas pointed out that the inconsistent bounce of the pitch posed difficulties for the Punjab batsmen throughout the match. However, he emphasized that they should not use this as an excuse, stressing the need to adapt their batting strategies to the conditions.

“We need to improve our batting, particularly on this surface. In all our matches here, we've encountered variable bounce. We can't make excuses because we are professionals, and we must adjust our batting to the situation. We may have lost this battle, but the war is not over,” Shreyas remarked post-match.

While some may wish to move on from the defeat, Shreyas is focused on learning from the experience. The 30-year-old expressed confidence in the strategies they had prepared for the match, noting that the key issue was execution.

“This isn't a day to forget; we need to return to the drawing board. We lost too many wickets early on. There's much to analyze. I have no doubts about my decisions. Our planning was solid, but we failed to execute on the field. I can't blame the bowlers; it was a low total to defend,” he added.

Despite this setback, Punjab's journey isn't over. They will travel to Ahmedabad for Qualifier 2, where they will face either the Mumbai Indians or Gujarat Titans, depending on the outcome of the Eliminator.