Shreyas Iyer played a flamboyant knock of unbeaten 87* to help Punjab Kings (PBKS) qualify for the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) Final, after outclassing Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Qualifier 2 clash.
Throughout his innings, Iyer gave a testament to his range of strokeplay and adaptability. The best of his shots came when Jasprit Bumrah bowled an inch-perfect 140-plus kph yorker which would have shattered his middle stump but Iyer’s stunning reflexes converted the block-hole delivery into a boundary by digging it out with a last-moment slice past the short-third man fielder.
While the shot earned the PBKS captain a lot of praise from fans and pundits, this wasn’t the first time he played it. Iyer’s shot is one of the best counters to the most lethal delivery in cricket and he’s had it in his repertoire for some time now.
Here’s a video that shows how Iyer has used his late-slice to negate yorkers over the years.
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The dynamic right-hander now has a chance to make history by becoming the first IPL captain to win consecutive titles with two different teams if he manages to lead PBKS to their maiden IPL trophy against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on June 3. Shreyas Iyer led KKR to their third title win last year and is now only a step away from doing an encore with PBKS.
Either way, this year will witness a new team being crowned champions as both PBKS and RCB are one of the few teams since the inception of the tournament yet to taste success. RCB too will be eager to break their jinx and win the elusive first trophy.
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