Punjab Kings needed Shreyas Iyer to pull through on Thursday but their skipper’s nightmarish run at Mullanpur continued. Playing IPL 2025 Qualifier 1, PBKS find themselves in a spot of bother with a top order collapse in the powerplay. Shreyas, his team’s leading run-getter also fell cheaply to arch nemesis Josh Hazlewood inside the powerplay.
Josh Hazlewood returns to bag ‘bunny’ Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer fronted up against a spirited Josh Hazlewood. The Australian has the wood over the PBKs skipper and on Thursday used that to good effect. The hosts had already lost Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh early, neecding Shreyas to rebuild. However, Iyer felt the pressure of the match up and attempted an ugly slog. Shreyas could only find an edge through to Phil Salt behind the stumps.
Before the PBKS vs RCB qualifier, Hazlewood had dimissed Shreyas Iyer thrice in 5 innings in the IPL. The Punjab Kings captain has scored 9 runs off 19 balls against the Aussie pacer, striking at just 47.36. It took Hazlewood just 3 deliveries to prize out Shreyas on Thursday, sending Punjab Kings on the brink.
Welcome back, #JoshHazlewood!
#RCB’s strike bowler bags the prized scalp of #ShreyasIyer in his very first over, extending his dominance in this classic matchup!
LIVE NOW
https://t.co/B4bnHnppgJ #IPLPlayoffs Qualifier 1
#PBKSvRCB on Star Sports Network &… pic.twitter.com/G2mYI4ZFhp
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 29, 2025
Shreyas Iyer’s Mullanpur nightmare continues
Shreyas Iyer is Punjab Kings’ leading run getter this season. However, the PBKS skipper’s runs have come away from home, with the 30-year-old struggling to ace the Mullanpur conditions. With the IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 at home for the Kings, they needed Shreyas to fire in all cylinders and break that jinx. In IPL 2025, his highest score at Mullanpur is 10. He has been dismissed for single digit scores 4 times, including a duck.
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