He was cast aside by Delhi after leading them to a final. He was let go by Kolkata a year after lifting the trophy.
And yet, Shreyas Iyer just keeps turning up -- not with noise, but with numbers; not with fury, but with focus.
In IPL 2025's most intense knockout clash, he produced one of the tournament's finest innings -- an unbeaten 87 that carried Punjab Kings to their first final since 2014.
It wasn't just a win. It was a statement. A reclamation. A reminder.
On a night when experience was expected to trump nerve, Shreyas Iyer turned the script on its head.
In a pressure-cooker Qualifier 2 against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians, the Punjab Kings skipper delivered a knock that will be remembered for years -- not just for its statistical brilliance, but for the composure, clarity, and character it exuded.
Chasing 204 in a high-stakes game is never easy. Doing it in a rain-delayed playoff, under the lights, against arguably the best T20 bowler in the world in Jasprit Bumrah and a team brimming with pedigree, is even tougher. But when Shreyas Iyer walked out to bat at the end of the sixth over -- with PBKS having already lost both openers -- there was no panic. Just presence.
He began with a four off his second delivery, a crisp statement of intent. From that moment, there was a visible shift in body language across both teams. Iyer wasn't just batting -- he was constructing. Constructing an innings, a chase, a moment in history.
By the time he walked off unbeaten on 87 from just 41 balls, with PBKS having sealed the chase with an over to spare, he had dismantled not just Mumbai's bowling but also the psychological grip they tend to exert in these knockout scenarios.
Poise Under Pressure
This wasn't a chaotic T20 blitz. It was measured domination. When Punjab needed almost two runs per ball for the final eight overs, Iyer didn't try to go ultra-aggressive. He picked his bowlers, picked his moments, and trusted his game.
The 13th over, bowled by Reece Topley, became a turning point. Topley -- tall, experienced, and a proven death-overs specialist -- served up three hittable deliveries. Iyer pounced. Three clean sixes in the space of four balls, all dispatched with the elegance that has become his trademark. That over tilted the game. PBKS were now ahead of the asking rate -- and Iyer wasn't done.
With 23 needed off 12 to win, Iyer did what few batters do against the backdrop of playoff tension: He finished the match with authority. Four sixes off left-armer Ashwani Kumar -- each one cleaner than the last. Not a slog in sight. All timing, all calculation. One final exclamation mark on an already towering knock.
A Knock Framed in Context
There's something about great innings that goes beyond numbers. Shreyas Iyer's 87* (41 balls, 5 fours, 8 sixes) wasn't just statistically outstanding -- it was strategically flawless and emotionally resonant.
Just five days earlier, Iyer had endured a tough night when Punjab were blown away by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1. At that post-match presentation, he had said calmly, 'We have lost the battle, not the war.' That statement now looks prophetic.
He didn't just respond -- he led. In the biggest game of PBKS' season, when others might have crumbled, Iyer stood tall. He barely put a foot wrong -- rotating strike early on, accelerating decisively.
From 97 to 87: A Season of Big Moments
Shreyas Iyer started his IPL 2025 campaign with an unbeaten 97. He now goes into the final on the back of an unbeaten 87. In between, he's been the glue in PBKS' batting line-up, the man who has time and again bailed them out or helped close out games with surgical precision.
But this knock against MI stands out. Because the stakes were the highest. Because the opposition was the most decorated in the tournament. Because the margin for error was microscopic. And because he played this innings after being demolished by the very team he will now face again -- RCB -- in the final.
Legacy in the Making
Tuesday's final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be Shreyas Iyer's second consecutive IPL final as captain, having led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024. Should PBKS win, Iyer will become the first captain in IPL history to win the trophy with two different franchises.
It will also complete a remarkable personal journey -- from being unceremoniously dropped as Delhi Capitals captain after taking them to their only final in 2020, to leading KKR to a title and still not being retained, and now potentially lifting a trophy with Punjab. Through it all, Iyer has kept performing, kept leading, and kept believing.
It's a story that defies logic and rewards resilience. DC let him go. KKR didn't retain him. And yet, Iyer keeps coming back stronger.
Eyes on the Final
Now, one more game remains. A rematch against Royal Challengers Bengaluru who outplayed PBKS comprehensively just days ago. But momentum has shifted. Confidence is high. And Shreyas Iyer looks like a man on a mission.
If the trend continues -- 97* to start, 87* in the knockout -- then the final on June 3 could be the perfect stage for a final act. For PBKS, it's a shot at a maiden title. For Iyer, it's a shot at history.
Whatever happens, one thing is already clear -- this was the night that Shreyas Iyer etched his name among the greatest IPL leaders of all time.
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