Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend AB de Villiers has found unique ways to decimate bowlers' plans during his career. But on the night of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Qualifier 2, De Villiers' jaw dropped when he witnessed Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer not just negotiating Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Jasprit Bumrah's yorker but hitting hit for a boundary as well.
Bumrah bowling the 18th over was the last throw from captain Hardik Pandya to stop a rampaging Iyer. But on the second ball of the over, Bumrah's perfect yorker was guided by Iyer to the boundary with precision as short third-man fielder Reece Topley had no chance. De Villiers labelled it as 'shot of the IPL' and said he won't be able to keep it out.
“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,” de Villiers said on JioStar.
“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,” he added.
However, this is not the first time Iyer has played a similar shot against Bumrah. A decade ago, while representing Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Iyer found a boundary off Bumrah's yorker in similar fashion.
Bumrah goes wicketless
After the boundary, Iyer did not take too many chances against Bumrah. The pacer bowled two low-full tosses. After a dot delivery, Iyer took a single. He ended Bumrah's spell with a single as well. The premier pacer went wicketless and conceded 40 runs from his quota of four overs. Earlier in the innings, Josh Inglis took on Bumrah in the powerplay overs. Inglis hit Bumrah for two sixes and as many fours in the fifth over to push the scoring rate.
Iyer plays captain's knock to continue Ahmedabad dominance
Iyer finished the run chase in the penultimate over by smashing young left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar for four sixes. He remained unbeaten for 87 runs off 41 deliveries. This was Iyer's fourth fifty in seven T20s played in Ahmedabad. In the previous innings against Gujarat Titans (GT), he remained unbeaten for 97.
PBKS will face RCB in the IPL 2025 final at the same venue. On a high-scoring ground, Iyer's contributions will once again be crucial for his team.