“We have lost the battle, but not the war” - Shreyas Iyer reacts to loss vs RCB in Qualifier 1

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer opened up on the defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2025 season at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Thursday, May 29.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Iyer stated that it was a day to forget. However, the franchise will get back to the drawing board and see where exactly it went wrong for them. Nevertheless, he didn’t doubt the planning part, while the execution went wrong for them.

“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 of the ground whatever (planning) we did, I think it was on point,” Shreyas Iyer said at the post match presentation.

“Just that we couldn't execute it on the field. Can't even blame the bowlers, as it was a low total to defend. We got to work on our batting especially on this wicket. In all the games we have played here there has been some variable bounce,” he added.

“We can't give such reasons because we are professionals at the end of the day and 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,” he concluded.

After being asked to bat first, Punjab Kings got bundled out for 101 runs in 14.1 overs. Marcus Stoinis was the top scorer with 26 runs in 17 balls, while Suyash Sharma pocketed three important wickets.

In the chase, RCB took 10 overs to seal the game with eight wickets in hand. Phil Salt was the star of the show, scoring 56* runs in 27 balls with six fours and three sixes. PBKS will next take on the winner of the eliminator on Sunday, June 1.

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