Ahmedabad mein 3 June 2025 ko hua yeh match PBKS ka pehla final tha 2014 ke baad, aur Iyer ne apne naye naye khiladiyon ki “bindaas” style ki khoob saraahat ki. Unhone kaha ke yeh season unki team ke liye ek bada step tha, par trophy jeetna abhi baaki hai. Iyer ka yeh kehna dikhata hai ke woh apni team ke saath kitna jazbaati aur focused hai.
Iyer, jo is baar PBKS ke captain bane aur 26.75 crore mein khareede gaye, ne apne chhote khiladiyon jaise Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar aur Vijaykumar Vyshak ki taareef ki. In naujawanon ne bina dare bada khel dikhaaya, aur Iyer ne kaha, “Inka bindaas attitude dekh ke dil khush ho gaya.” Unki wajah se PBKS points table mein 19 points ke saath top pe raha aur final tak pahuncha.
Iyer ka khud ka performance bhi lajawab tha – unhone 600 se zyada run banaye, strike rate 175.80 ke saath, aur 39 chhakke lagaye. Final mein RCB ne 191 ka target diya, jo Iyer ko laga chase ho sakta tha, kyunki unhone Qualifier 2 mein Mumbai Indians ke khilaaf 204 ka target chase kiya tha. Unhone kaha, “MI wale match ke baad mujhe laga 200 par score tha.” Par RCB ki bowling, khaas kar Krunal Pandya ne (2 for 17 in 4 overs), unko rok diya. Iyer ne haar ke bawajood team ka hausla buland rakha aur kaha, “Har ek bande ne dil se khela, support staff aur management ka bhi bada haath hai.”
Iyer ka captaincy style ekdum alag tha – woh apne khiladiyon ko khul ke khelne ka mauka dete hain. Jaise Priyansh Arya ka Chennai ke khilaaf 103 run ka dhamaka, jisko Iyer ne “IPL ka top knock” kaha. Ya phir Gujarat Titans ke khilaaf jab unhone apna century chhod kar Shashank Singh ko match khatam karne diya. Yeh sab dekh ke fans aur purane players jaise Suresh Raina ne kaha ke Iyer ne PBKS ko ek nayi shaan di hai.
X pe fans ne bhi Iyer ki taareef ki. Ek bande ne likha, “PBKS ne kamaal ladai di! Jeetna hi sab kuch nahi, behtar hona asli baat hai.” Dusra bola, “Shreyas Iyer ekdum solid batsman aur leader hai, Punjab ko pehli baar final mein le gaya!” Iyer ke liye yeh season ek bada chance tha India ke future captain banne ka. Purane players jaise Robin Uthappa ne kaha, “Iyer ko India ke liye captaincy karni chahiye, woh itna kamaal ha.!”
Haan, thodi si mushkil bhi aayi – jaise Qualifier 2 mein slow over rate ke liye Iyer pe 24 lakh ka fine laga. Par unhone team ko hamesha sambhala. Ricky Ponting ke saath unki jodi ne PBKS ko playoffs tak le jaane mein badi bhoomika nibhayi. Iyer ne kaha ke yeh haar ek lesson hai, aur agle saal woh trophy uthayenge. Unka yeh kehna, “Maidaan pe utarte ho toh jung ladte ho,” dikhata hai ke woh kitne joshile hain. PBKS ke fans ke liye yeh season ek nayi ummeed hai, aur Iyer ke saath 2026 mein shayad woh pehli IPL trophy jeet lein.
Main apni team ke har ek bande pe bahut fakr karta hoon. Itne saare naye ladkon ne apna pehla season khela aur jis bindaas tareeke se khela, woh ekdum lajawab tha. Baar baar wahi baat bolta hoon, par har ek bande ko salaam – khiladi, support staff, management, sab ke bina hum yahan nahi pahunchte. Abhi kaam aadha hua hai, agle saal trophy toh banta hai. Har match mein humne dum lagaya, har banda alag alag waqt pe khada hua aur bola, ‘Main match jeeta doonga.’ MI ke khilaaf pichle match mein 204 chase kiya tha, toh mujhe laga 200 par score tha. Par unhone gazab bowling ki, khaas kar Krunal ne. Uska experience dikha, usne aaj kamaal kar diya.
