"The first captain to take 3 teams into the final" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shreyas Iyer after PBKS' IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 win vs MI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Shreyas Iyer for taking the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the IPL 2025 final with a match-winning knock in Qualifier 2 against the Mumbai Indians (MI). He pointed out that the Mumbaikar became the first captain to lead three different franchises to Indian Premier League summit clashes.

MI set PBKS a 204-run target in the third playoff game of IPL 2025 in Ahmedabad on Sunday, June 1. Shreyas smashed an unbeaten 87 off 41 deliveries in the chase to help his side achieve the target with five wickets and an over to spare and book their berth in the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the same venue on June 3.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that Shreyas achieved a unique accomplishment as captain with one of the best knocks in IPL playoff history.

"Shreyas Iyer, the first captain to take three teams into the final. He has taken three different franchises to the final. Cometh the hour, cometh the Iyer. The way he batted in this match, one of the best knocks in the history of IPL playoffs. You remember Shane Watson's century in a run chase, and now this knock," he said (0:05).

Chopra added that Shreyas started his stint as a PBKS player with an unbeaten match-winning knock in the franchise's IPL 2025 opener against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium and played a similar knock at the same venue in Qualifier 2.

"He started his IPL journey with this new franchise from this ground. He was 97 not out then, and now he is 87 not out, and in between, he has written an extremely beautiful story," he observed.

Shreyas Iyer had previously captained the Delhi Capitals (DC) to a runners-up finish in IPL 2020. He led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the trophy last season.

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"I have rarely seen someone do a 200-run chase so fluently, fearlessly, and flawlessly" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shreyas Iyer's knock in IPL 2025 Qualifier 2

Shreyas Iyer struck five fours and eight sixes during his unbeaten 87-run knock. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Shreyas Iyer for his immaculately planned innings in a big chase in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2.

"Shreyas Iyer hit eight sixes. Mumbai hit seven sixes in their entire innings, and Iyer alone hit eight. I have rarely seen someone do a 200-run chase so fluently, fearlessly, and flawlessly. When he hit balls in the air, they only went into the stands. He hit three sixes in a Reece Topley over," he said (4:20).

The cricketer-turned-commentator appreciated the PBKS skipper's strokeplay, especially a four he hit to third man off a Jasprit Bumrah yorker.

"Jasprit Bumrah bowled a perfect yorker, and he glided it to third man from in front of the stumps. What was that? That was incredible. Then he hit Trent Boult. You were bowling yorkers, and he was digging them out. You bowled slightly short, and he was hitting it into the stands. If you bowled full, he hit it straight," Chopra elaborated.

Chopra added that Shreyas and Nehal Wadhera's (48 off 29) presence in the middle ensured Hardik Pandya had to take Mitchell Santner out of the attack, with the former then taking his team over the line with big hits in the penultimate over.

"His and Nehal's fear was so much that Mitchell Santner didn't come to bowl. He kept playing after soaking up so much pressure. When Ashwani Kumar came in the end, he said he would finish it in the 19th over. He hit sixes one after the other, incredible," he observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra opined that Shreyas Iyer needs to be a part of India's T20I side. While acknowledging that Suryakumar Yadav is the captain, the analyst added that Shreyas should also be part of the leadership group.