‘Lost the battle, not the war’: Shreyas Iyer promises to bounce back Qualifier 2
Punjab Kings suffered the worst defeat in IPL Play-off history as Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased down 102 with 60 balls to spare. It seemed like the good old PBKS that fans were accustomed to witnessing. But under captain Shreyas Iyer, PBKS have improved by leaps and bounds in IPL 2025. Even when PBKS could only manage 111 against Kolkata Knight Riders, they bounced back, saving the lowest total ever. Hence, Iyer is not giving up on the dream to win the maiden IPL title for PBKS. He has a message for fans after the RCB humiliation: ‘We lost the battle, not the war’. “Not a day to forget, but got to go back to the drawing board. We lost a lot of wickets in the first innings. There’s a lot to go back and study on. I am not doubting my decisions, to be honest. Whatever we did in terms of planning, outside the ground, I think it was on point. It was just that we couldn’t execute it on the field. I can’t even blame the bowlers, as it was a low total to defend. At the end of the day, we have to bat according to the situation and we have to live up to it. We have lost the battle, but not the war,” Shreyas Iyer said after the match. Punjab Kings will now face the winner of GT-MI in Ahmadabad in Qualifier 2 on June 1. PBKS have already beaten both teams in their own backyard this season. They began the IPL 2025 campaign with an 11-run win over Gujarat Titans in Ahmadabad and beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets in Mumbai.
