 "Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera celebrate after guiding Punjab Kings to an eight-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants with 22 balls to spare. AP")
Shreyas Iyer hailed Punjab Kings’ “camaraderie and synergy” after guiding his team to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants in their Indian Premier League (IPL) meeting on Tuesday. It was the second victory for the Kings in as many outings this season, this one a lot more comprehensive compared to their 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad as Iyer and company chased down the 172-run target set by LSG with nearly four overs to spare, moving to the second spot on the IPL 2025 points table in the process.
Prabhsimran Singh played a key role in PBKS’ clinical victory with a knock of 69 off 34 balls while Iyer (52 not out) and Nehal Wadhera (43 not out) stitched together an unbroken 67-run stand for the third wicket. Earlier, Arshdeep Singh had emerged the pick of the Punjab bowlers with a haul of 3/43 that helped the visitors restrict the Super Giants to 171/7.
“It is the start we required. Boys played their role really well. Every individual contributed to the best of their ability and whatever was discussed in the team meeting, we implemented really well. To be honest, there’s no right combination. Just that the camaraderie and synergy has to click at the right time. I feel all teams have the right potential to go out there and win the game.
“It’s just that you need to have the similar kind of mindset when you go out there, which is to win. I always try to be in the present as much as possible. Even this innings is now history for me. Just want to focus on the next one now,” Iyer said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsLSG were 20-25 runs short, concedes skipper Pant
LSG captain Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, conceded that his team had fallen “20-25 runs short” of what would have been an ideal score for the strip that they played on on Tuesday. The wicketkeeper-batter also revealed the kind of surface that the Lucknow team management was looking for in their first home game of the season.
“It (the total) wasn’t enough, we were 20-25 runs short, but that’s part and parcel of the game. Still assessing the conditions at our home ground. It’s always going to be difficult to get a big total when you lose early wickets, but each and every player is trying hard to take the game forward.
“The idea was to get a slow wicket. I think the slower balls were sticking in. We got to learn from this game and move forward. There are a lot of positives, can’t say much,” Pant, who is going through a lean patch with the bat , said after suffering his second defeat in three outings as LSG captain.