Why Did Punjab Kings Skipper Shreyas Iyer Opt To Bat First in IPL 2025 Game Against CSK?

Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of their IPL 2025 game in Mullanpur on Tuesday. However, the decision to bat first has raised a few eyebrows, given that teams have often preferred to chase down totals this season.

Why did PBKS opt to bat first?

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer revealed that his decision to bat first was mainly to make the best use of his batters. “We are going to have a bat first, it’s simply because we had a discussion how our batting lineup is and we need to make the best use of it. In the last game, the dew wasn’t that much but that’s not in our control but we need to back out strengths,” Iyer said at the toss.

He also said that it is important for Punjab Kings to bat themselves as a unit. Punjab Kings are coming on the back of a 50-run loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their previous match. The 2014 IPL runners-up had begun with consecutive wins over Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants before the loss to Rajasthan Royals.

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Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said that his team was also looking to bat first. “We were looking to bat first as well, pretty dry wicket, new conditions for us and we need to adapt as soon as possible. We have been bowling pretty well but we have conceded more than 15 runs an over twice in an innings, hopefully we can improve on that,” he said.

CSK aim to return to winning ways

Chennai Super Kings will be looking to return to winning ways in IPL 2025. The five-time champions began their campaign with a four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians. However, the Gaikwad-led side has suffered three consecutive losses, to RCB, RR and DC, which has left them at ninth place in the points table.

At the time of writing this report, Punjab Kings were 54/3 in five overs, having lost Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer and Marcus Stoinis. Priyansh Arya was unbeaten on 40.

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