Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front as his team defeated five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 on June 1 in Ahmedabad. With this win, PBKS also qualified for the final of the tournament, where they will face RCB on June 3 at the same venue.

During his 87*-run knock with 5 fours and 8 sixes, Iyer’s one shot off MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah stood out. When MI captain Hardik Pandya trusted Bumrah to bowl out and maybe turn the tide of the match in their favor, Punjab needed 31 runs off three overs while chasing a 204-run total.

Before Iyer's incredible reflexes turned the block-hole delivery into four runs by digging it out with a last-minute hack past the short-third man fielder to the boundary, Bumrah nearly broke the base of the middle-stump with a perfect yorker that was hitting the stumps at 140 kph or more.

“That’s the shot of the IPL for me. That’s hitting the middle-stump – the perfect yorker. That’s literally breaking the toe of the bat. You can’t get that away. That’s maybe breaking my stumps if I’m facing it. He gets a four off that and puts the pressure straight back on MI against the best bowler in the world. Just incredible batting – pure, brute force and strength. What a fantastic player!” raved AB de Villiers as he spoke to JioCinema.

“I don’t know where to start. I’m obviously a huge fan. But that innings tonight was out of this world. He deserves every bit of the praise coming his way. Under immense pressure, knowing it was do-or-die, with the odds stacked against him – he stood tall.

His sixes were a joy to watch. His head was still, his positioning perfect. He’s calm, not arrogant – level-headed, and I love that about him. There are many more runs to come from this guy in the future. Shreyas Iyer, I salute you. What a knock,” remarked de Villiers.