Iyer: ‘We’re finding it difficult to assess the wicket batting first’

Cliff Notes – Iyer: ‘We’re finding it difficult to assess the wicket batting first’

• Shreyas Iyer highlighted the Punjab Kings’ struggle to adapt to slower pitch conditions, particularly when batting first, which has hindered their ability to set defendable totals.
• Despite a promising start in their recent match, the middle order failed to capitalise, leading to a disappointing total of 157 runs against RCB, with key batters unable to find their rhythm in the latter stages of the innings.

Iyer: ‘We’re finding it difficult to assess the wicket batting first’

Shreyas Iyer thinks Punjab Kings are suffering from a middle muddle in IPL 2025, especially at home in New Chandigarh – where they’ve played their final game at IPL 2025 – with surfaces having thrown up a number of questions at their batters.

On Sunday, PBKS managed just 157 in their 20 overs; the last five overs produced just 38 as Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar put on a superb exhibition of death bowling. Even a feared finisher like Shashank Singh couldn’t quite find his hitting gears – he didn’t hit a single boundary in the last five overs.

Their innings wasn’t quite a struggle like it was in their previous game here, where they successfully defended 110 against Kolkata Knight Riders, but it wasn’t one they’d look back on fondly either.

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“If you see, a majority of our batters like to go from ball one,” Iyer said after PBKS went down by seven wickets to RCB. “We’re finding it difficult to assess the wicket if we’re batting first. That has been the scenario from match one.

“Otherwise, we’ve not been able to capitalise on the starts we’ve been getting. It’s just that the wickets have been getting slower and slower, [this] being an afternoon game, we weren’t able to set a total we could defend. Even in the middle phase when we thought we could take on the bowlers, we couldn’t capitalise.”

Iyer counted a “great start” with the bat as one of their positives. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh put on just 42 in 4.2 overs, before their dismissals looking to pick boundaries led to that middle muddle, where they kept losing wickets on the face of some excellent bowling from Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya.

Since his century against CSK, Arya has laid down the marker in each of the four innings – 22, 16, 22, 36 – but hasn’t been able to kick on. The story is similar for Prabhsimran, who has scores of 33, 13, 30 and 42.

When asked if the openers should tone down their approach, Iyer cautioned against curbing their instincts, while stressing the need for “some of the middle-order batters” to take bull by the horns.”

“We keep talking about adapting to the wicket, but once the ball tends to get old it doesn’t skid off the wicket that well, ” Iyer said. “Both of them are great stroke players, it’s difficult to stop their instincts. Once you say they’ve got to play according to situations, it kind of becomes hard for them to comprehend as well.

Shreyas Iyer was out for a two-ball duck Associated Press

“If you see other games, they’ve been giving us absolutely brilliant starts. A few of the middle order batters, we need to step up and decide to take bull by the horns and see to it we get the team and bowler.”

Iyer, too, has found himself amidst an unusual trend of either going all-in or being dismissed early. He has been out for three single-digit scores in his last three outings, two of those against RCB. On Friday, he was out looking to slash Hazlewood after being cramped for room. On Sunday, Iyer was caught looking to clear the long-on boundary.

“I’m in a great mind space,” he said. “I just need to cross 10 runs and after that I can take on the charge. I don’t want to give reasons that I played in a particulate way. I need to be free flowing as well and not think about what we’ve been doing in the past. Just stay in the present as much as possible and capitalise on the starts we’ve been getting.”

PBKS have a six-day break after two days of frenetic travel as they played RCB back-to-back. And the time off – before they play KKR at Eden Gardens – couldn’t have come at a better time for Iyer.

“It’s important that we go back to the drawing board, more importantly rejuvenate and refresh, because we’ve been constantly travelling since the last couple of days,” he said. “It’s important to assess our body as well and see to it we’re in the best shape possible before the next game.”