"Could have taken it slower and tried to build partnerships": PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer on team's loss against RR

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], April 6 (ANI): Following the loss against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at home, Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer spoke about what went wrong in the clash that led to the defeat in the 18th encounter of the cash-rich league.
A hard-hitting half-century by Yashasvi Jaiswal and top bowling spells from Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma and Maheesh Theekshana helped Rajasthan Royals (RR) secure a 50-run win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at Mullanpur on Saturday.
With this loss, PBKS suffered its first defeat of IPL 2025 and started its home leg with a setback. It is in fourth place with two wins and a loss, whereas RR is in seventh place with two wins in two matches.
"I felt we could have taken it slower and tried to build partnerships, but lots of learning from this game. Today, there was no dew as we anticipated, but I feel we need to go back to the drawing board and see the videos where we weren't able to execute with our bowling and batting. We lost back-to-back wickets as well, which wasn't ideal as it isn't easy for new batters. Nehal was phenomenal under pressure. He took some time and then was able to charge the bowlers, making the most of the situation. Need a slight hiccup to wake you up at the start of the tournament. I personally feel this loss will be good, and we will need to go back to the drawing board," Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation.
Further, the 30-year-old player spoke about the team's performance, saying that they weren't able to execute the plans
"To be honest, I was considering around 180-185. That would be good to chase over here, we weren't able to execute our plans. I'm glad this blip happened early in the tournament. It was a decent pitch; the ball was holding a bit, and we were not giving them much pace," the right-hand batter added.
After PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl first, an 89-run stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal (67 in 45 balls, with three fours and five sixes) and Sanju Samson (38 in 26 balls, with six fours) kickstarted things to RR. Cameos from Riyan Parag (43* in 25 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Shimron Hetmyer (20 in 12 balls, with two fours and a six) took RR to 205/4 in 20 overs.
Lockie Ferguson (2/37) was PBKS's top bowler. Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen each took one wicket.
During the run chase, PBKS was reduced to 43/4 by Jofra Archer (3/25). However, an 88-run stand between Nehal Wadhera (62 in 41 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Glenn Maxwell (30 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) gave PBKS hope. However, after their dismissals, PBKS lost their direction and missed boundaries dearly.
PBKS was restricted to 155/9 in 20 overs, thanks to some fine bowling support from Sandeep Sharma (2/21) and Maheesh Theekshana (2/26).
Jofra Archer was awarded the Player of the Match for his exceptional bowling performance. (ANI)