Punjab Kings’ new captain, Shreyas Iyer, led his team to a memorable victory over Gujarat Titans. He missed his century by just three runs, but his 97 off 42 balls was no less impressive. After PBKS’ win, Indian legend Sourav Ganguly praised him on social media.
The former Kolkata Knight Riders captain took to X to praise Shreyas Iyer. He called the 30-year-old the most improved batsman of the past year. Dada also said Iyer was now ready to dominate all three formats after overcoming his issues with handling lengthy deliveries.
Talking about the match, the Punjab Kings got off to a great start, thanks to Priyansh Arya‘s explosive batting. They faced a setback when ‘The Big Show,’ Glenn Maxwell, was dismissed on the first ball by Sai Kishore‘s disciplined delivery. However, it turned into ‘The Shreyas Iyer Show’ after that, as he took Titans’ new acquisition, Prasidh Krishna, to the cleaners.
“Shreyas iyer the most improved batsman in last 1 yr .. ready for all formats . Great to see his improvement after a few issues on length.”
Sourav Ganguly on Shreyas Iyer on X
Shashank Singh’s explosive batting in the final over denied Iyer his first IPL century. However, those runs were crucial, as Shubman Gill’s team fell short by just 11 runs. Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler made important contributions, but the target was too high. With this match, every team has now played their first game of the 2025 IPL season.
Shreyas Iyer reacted to Punjab Kings’ first win of the IPL 2025 season against Gujarat Titans
It’s hard to deny that Shreyas Iyer played his best IPL innings yesterday. He showed positive intent from the first ball and stayed aggressive until the end. The 30-year-old dominated the bowlers, smashing 5 fours and 9 sixes. After the Kings’ win, he shared a motivational message on social media.
Iyer took to X to praise the team for their immense fighting spirit. At one point, it seemed like the Titans might pull off the run chase. However, PBKS bowlers, especially impact player Vyshak Vijaykumar, stayed calm and executed the plan perfectly.
“Fighting start! Loving the energy in the team.”
Shreyas Iyer on X
The captain also admitted that he loved the team’s energy. Punjab Kings have a new coach-captain duo with Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer. They enjoyed a successful three-year stint together at Delhi Capitals from 2019 to 2021, and PBKS fans will hope for similar results.
