"Need to put your ego in your pocket" - Former Australian all-rounder questions Shreyas Iyer's shot selection in PBKS vs RCB IPL 2025 Qualifier 1

Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody opined that Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer totally misread the game situation by trying to take on his nemesis Josh Hazlewood in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Moody stated that Shreyas should have kept his ego in his pocket and tried to play out Hazlewood.

RCB hammered PBKS by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Thursday, May 29. Bowling first, Bengaluru knocked over Punjab for 101 in 14.1 overs and chased down the target in exactly 10 overs.

Shreyas was the third wicket to fall in PBKS' innings, with the score at 30. He tried to slog a good length ball from Hazlewood outside off, but only managed a nick to the keeper. The Indian batter thus perished to the Aussie pacer for the fourth time in six innings in the T20 format. During an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, Moody questioned Shreyas' batting mindset against Hazlewood.

"The first ball he played and missed - the perfect line that you'd expect Hazlewood to bowl. He sort of played at it, but didn't really want to play at it. And then, that third ball he got out. To me, he totally misread the game situation and his own situation. Yes, he would be aware that Hazlewood has had him a few times in the past. He would know the exact numbers." the former all-rounder said.

Moody added that Shreyas could have seen out Hazlewood and then tried to take on the other bowlers. The 59-year-old elaborated:

"At times, you need to put your ego in your pocket and just move forward. To me that was the perfect example of not reading the situation - trying to overcome something that has been a darkness in the past instead of just swallowing your pride and just moving on by just accumulating. You only had to see Hazlewood out. It was a simple thing - see him out and look to dissect the rest of their attack."

Marcus Stoinis top-scored for PBKS with 26 off 17 in Qualifier 1, while Prabhsimran Singh and Azmatullah Omarzai scored 18 each.

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"We have lost the battle, but not the war" - Shreyas Iyer reflects on defeat

Speaking after PBKS' eight-wicket loss against RCB in Mullanpur, Shreyas remained optimistic. Punjab will get another shot in the final in Qualifier 2 on June 1. Reflecting on the same, he said:

"We have lost the battle, but not the war."

Sharing his thoughts on Punjab's lackluster effort against Bengaluru, the 30-year-old stated:

"Not a day to forget, but got to go back to the drawing board. We lost a lot of wickets. There's a lot to go back and study on."

Punjab will now meet the winner of the Eliminator between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 1.