At the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were in the same situation -- discarded by their existing franchises despite leading them to strong finishes in the previous year.
Iyer had guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a stunning third IPL title in 2024, nearly taking Delhi Capitals to the playoffs, missing out on net run rate in a four-way tie.
Their respective franchises did not retain both. In the subsequent auction, they attracted identical bids, Pant going to Lucknow Super Giants for a record winning of Rs 27 crore while Iyer was close behind, commanding a price of 26.75 crore from Punjab Kings. Both were named captains of their respective franchises.
Their fortunes took a drastic turn in IPL 2025 as Shreyas Iyer spearheaded Punjab Kings to the final while LSG ended in seventh place, with Pant finding a semblance of form with a century in losing cause in their final league match.
Late on Sunday night, Iyer continued with his brilliant form this season with a majestic unbeaten 87 off 41 balls, blasting five fours and eight sixes, against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 and guided Punjab Kings to the IPL final after 11 years.
But in the end, Iyer's brilliance shone brighter as he timed his innings to perfection to help PBKS reach the final again, coming through a match delayed by rain for more than two hours and around 01:30 am IST.
Chasing 205 runs for victory, Punjab Kings stormed to 207/5 in 19 overs, riding on Iyer's 87 and a 21-ball 38 by Josh Inglis and 29-ball 48 by Nehal Wadhera for a five-wicket win. Asked to bat first, Mumbai Indians had posted 203/6 in 20 overs, propelled by a 29-ball 44 by Tilak Varma and an identical score off 26 balls by Suryakumar Yadav. Vital contributions of 38 by Jonny Bairstow and a blazing 37 not out off 18 balls by Naman Dhir further bolstered their score.
Iyer thus made it to a second successive IPL final with two different teams and having led Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020, the 30-year-old became the only player to captain three different franchises to the final. That also set a revenge clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to whom PBKS had lost badly in Qualifier 1 and ensured that the IPL will have a new champion because both the finalists will be playing for their maiden title.
Despite coming in at 55/2 and seeing Ingli depart with the score of 72/3, Iyer kept his cool and went on to put up a match-winning score.
"I don’t know, to be honest. I thrive on big occasions. I always tell myself and my teammates that the bigger the occasion, the calmer you stay, and the better the results. I focused on my breathing rather than stressing out in the middle. As I said before the game, all players need to be assertive and show their intent from the very first ball. The intent from everyone was outstanding.
Iyer played a well-controlled innings, pacing himself well for an onslaught in the death overs that guided PBKS to the target with six balls to spare. He struggled through the initial period of lack of rhythm to unleash a flurry of shots, hammering sixes off three consecutive deliveries off Reece Topley, who came into the playing XI in place of an injured Richard Gleeson. Iyer finally sealed victory with a four off Ashwani Kumar.
For me, when I went in, I had to spend some time. The more time I spend in the middle, the better I get and the clearer my vision becomes. It’s all about imagining and visualizing.
The PBKS captain said his players' fearless nature helped them fight back from difficult situations throughout IPL 2026.
Throughout the season, we’ve played well. One match doesn’t define us. I just let the players be. I don’t ask too much from them. They already know how to approach situations, even if they don’t have much experience. That fearless nature helps a lot.
The 30-year-old was also happy to have proved a point to KKR and to live up to the megabucks spent on him in the auction. "Honestly, I didn’t think or expect where I would go in the auction. I just wanted to be in a good environment. I think the job is only half done. I was locked in. Thank you so much!"
It was quite satisfactory for Iyer because his shot selection was questioned after PBKS were bundled out for 101 by RCB in Qualifier 1. PBKS will now be fighting for their maiden title against RCB and Iyer gets a second chance to undo the mistakes they made in their previous encounter.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 203/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 44, Tilak Varma 44; Azmatullah Omarzai 2-43, Marcus Stoinis 1-14) lost to Punjab Kings 207/5 in 19 overs (Shreyas Iyer 87 not out, Nehal Wadhera 48; Ashwani Kumar 2-55, Hardik Pandya 1-19) by five wickets.
