The loss ended Iyer's eight-match winning streak as captain across two franchises and two seasons -- Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and PBKS this season
After a flying start to their campaign with back-to-back wins, Punjab Kings suffered their first defeat of the season and skipper Shreyas Iyer, in fact, was glad the early reversal could work as a "wake-up" call for the team. (Highlights | Schedule | Teams | Points Table)
Yashasvi Jaiswal's 67, and Riyan Parag's late flourish with a 43 not out powered Rajasthan Royals to 205/4 -- the highest total at this venue.
In reply, Punjab Kings faltered under pressure, managing only 155/9 as their homecoming turned sour.
"I thought that we would be conceding around 180-185 -- that would have been a great total to chase. We gave away a few extra runs, were not able to execute according to our plans. Glad that it (the defeat) happened at the start of the season," Iyer said at the post-match presentation.
The loss ended Iyer's eight-match winning streak as captain across two franchises and two seasons -- Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and PBKS this season. Only Gautam Gambhir, with 10 wins on the trot, has more victories as IPL skipper.
"This is just the third match, you need a slight hiccup at the start to wake you up and glad that it happened right now. We need to go back to the drawing board and come back strong next game," said Iyer, who guided KKR to IPL 2024 triumph.
Iyer admitted there were plenty of learnings from the loss, especially in the bowling and batting departments.
"Many things to learn from this game. Today there was no dew. We cannot be blaming that. We need to go back to the drawing board and see the videos of where we were not able to execute with the bowling.
"In the batting, we could be focusing on building partnerships. We also lost back-to-back wickets. It is not easy for a new batter to get going."
He also praised young Nehal Wadhera for his counter-attacking fifty under pressure, which kept PBKS in the contest after they were reeling at 43/4 in the Power Play.
"Phenomenal batting under pressure. He took some time, he was able to analyse and was able to charge on the loose balls.
On the pitch, he said: "It was a decent pitch to bat on, it was holding a bit. Were trying to hit the deck and not give them much pace. We could have built a few partnerships and taken it a little slow, rather than over-attacking."