“I asked Yuzi to ….” - Shreyas Iyer reveals his message to Yuzvendra Chahal against KKR

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has revealed his message to spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on controlling his breathing a bit and attacking the opposition’s batters as the fielders were placed in perfect positions.

Notably, Punjab Kings (PBKS) bagged a 16-run win in the 31st match of the IPL 2025 season against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, April 15.

"It is hard to express in words. I was just backing my instincts. I saw the ball turn a bit, and asked Yuzi to control his breathing a bit. We needed to be attacking and the right players were in the right places. It is tough to talk right now and such wins make it special," Iyer said in the post-match presentation.

After electing to bat first, Punjab Kings could score only 111 runs in 15.3 overs as Harshit Rana turned the game upside down with three important wickets. In response, KKR could score only 95 runs in 15.1 overs.

Star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal bagged his career-best IPL figures of 4/28, while pacer Marco Jansen picked three scalps to propel PBKS to the lowest successfully defended total in IPL history.

"I personally felt, when I went out to bat, I faced two balls - one stayed low and one hit the bottom of the bat, people were finding it difficult to sweep. There was variable bounce in the wicket, we got a decent total to be honest, looking at the win of 16 runs. The bounce was not consistent. We had this at the back of our mind, and we asked the bowlers to keep this in mind. And they executed it,” he added.

"Two wickets in two overs gave us that kind of momentum and the two batters came in and took the momentum towards them. When we saw Yuzi come in and turn the ball, our hopes and expectations were higher and I wanted the field to be attacking and right in front of their face so that they would make mistakes and the tide turned towards us. It is important we stay humble and not get over-hyped with this win. It is important we take all the positives from this game and try to execute from ball one in the next game," he concluded.

PBKS are currently occupying the fourth rank in the IPL 2025 standings with four wins and two defeats. On the other hand, KKR is holding the sixth spot.

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