Ex-India cricketer Yograj Singh wasn’t stingy with his criticism of Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer, labelling his IPL 2025 final dismissal a “criminal offence” which cost his side plenty. Iyer, who scored only 1 run off 2 balls, was taken by Jitesh Sharma behind the wicket off a Romario Shepherd delivery, which proved to be the match’s turning point.
Yograj Singh’s Harsh Verdict
Looking back on the final, Yograj Singh criticized Iyer’s shot choice and technique, opining that such an dismissal by a captain in a pressure-final was unacceptable. His words fuelled the post-match discussion with many repeating that Iyer’s early dismissal badly hurt Punjab’s hopes of claiming the title.
“The shot which Shreyas Iyer played in the final was a criminal offence, according to me. Ashok Mankad told me about this criminal offence, which comes under Section 302. He also told me that the repercussions of this is that you will be banned for two matches. What Shreyas did yesterday is not acceptable. There is no apology for that.” Yograj Singh said to ANI
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RCB’s 18-Year Wait Comes To An End In Ahmedabad
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally broke their long drought claiming their first-ever IPL trophy after 18 years, by beating Punjab Kings by six wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Punjab Kings had decided to bowl first after winning the toss. Their bowlers, especially Arshdeep Singh (3/40) and Kyle Jamieson (3/48), maintained good spells to restrict RCB’s run rate. Yuzvendra Chahal (1/37) was also instrumental in keeping the batters under control.
Though wickets fell at frequent intervals, RCB was able to put up a good score of 190/9 in their 20 overs due to vital contributions from Virat Kohli (43), Rajat Patidar (26), Jitesh Sharma (24) and Liam Livingstone (25).
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Punjab’s Chase Falls Short
Punjab Kings began the chase in a confident manner with the openers Priyansh Arya (24 from 19) and Prabhsimran Singh (26 from 22) contributing a good 43-run stand. The middle order received a good performance by Josh Inglis, who hit 39 from 23 balls, including a four and four sixes. But it was Shashank Singh who almost pulled off the unthinkable. His unbeaten 61 off 30 balls, with three boundaries and six sixes, took Punjab agonizingly close. He hit 22 runs from the last over, but having 29 to get, it wasn’t enough.
RCB Bowlers Hold Their Nerve
RCB bowlers played a very important role and Krunal Pandya impressed the most with an economy of 2/17, claiming the Player of the Match title. Yash Dayal (1/18) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/38) also contributed with important strikes at key situations.
