Iyer remains defiant even as sixth consecutive loss leaves PBKS on brink of elimination: 'There’s always light…’

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer put on a brave face even as his team suffered a sixth defeat on the trot, insisting that he was "always positive irrespective of the results".

'I’m not someone who dwells too much in the past'

Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs with a 23-run victory over PBKS in the afternoon clash of the Sunday double-header. Punjab, as a result, have lost all of their matches at Dharamsala's HPCA Stadium – their secondary home venue – this season and face a must-win situation heading into their final league match against Lucknow Super Giants away from home.

"I’m always positive irrespective of the results. It doesn’t dictate how my personality is and I always approach with a strong attitude. I’m not someone who dwells too much in the past. This is over, this is gone. Tomorrow again I’m going to see the sunrise and there’s always light at the end of the tunnel," Iyer said during a post-match chat with the broadcasters.

More from Firstcricket

PBKS had positioned themselves as a strong contender to qualify for the playoffs of the ongoing Indian Premier League season, being the only unbeaten team at the halfway stage with six wins and a washout. The second half of the league stage, however, couldn't have been more different for the team that finished runners-up last season.

Rajasthan Royals snapped their unbeaten run with a six-wicket victory in Mullanpur on 28 April and Iyer and Co have been on a downward spiral ever since, losing each of their next five games including against defending champions RCB on Sunday.

'Match was lost in the powerplay'

Venkatesh Iyer starred in RCB's triumph with an unbeaten 73 off just 40 balls, stitching crucial partnerships with Virat Kohli (58) and Tim David (28). Devdutt Padikkal also chipped in with a handy 45 off 25 deliveries as PBKS struggled to get wickets at regular intervals after electing to field and allowed multiple partnerships to blossom.

The Kings, in reply, were reduced to 19/3 with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/38) striking in each of his first two overs. Cooper Connolly (37) and Suryansh Shedge (35) briefly rekindled Punjab's hopes in the middle overs while Shashank Singh (56 off 27) slammed a 22-ball fifty and shared a 67-run partnership with Marcus Stoinis (37) to take the game deep.

Despite the late scare, RCB managed to seal a comfortable victory thanks to some smart death bowling by Josh Hazlewood (1/36) and Rasikh Salam Dar (3/36) in the 19th and 20th overs respectively.

"Obviously, they got off to a great start and then started taking on the bowlers right after the powerplay. I think getting to 222 was a commendable performance and we weren’t able to take wickets in the bowling that much, but yeah, I think the match was lost in the powerplay," Iyer said during the post-match chat, reflecting on his team's shortcomings in their latest outing.

"We were three down and the majority of our run scorers were Prabhsimran and Priyansh. The starts they used to give us in the powerplay, obviously we couldn’t get this time and also me coming in and getting out early. Really disappointed, but commendable performance by Shashank and Stoinis and also a few others in the middle. I think we were up there with almost 10 an over, but yeah, fell short. Tremendous bowling by Bhuvi and Hazlewood," he added.