Shreyas Iyer's reply to Bumrah yorker called 'shot of IPL', de Villiers says 'If I faced it, my stumps would've broken'
Shreyas Iyer did not put a foot wrong in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians as he hit an unbeaten 87 to guide Punjab Kings to a five-wicket win. As a result, PBKS have now reached the final of the T20 competition for just the second time in their history. Such was the brilliance of Shreyas that even someone of Jasprit Bumrah's stature was made to look inferior, and the pacer had no answers to the right-hander's onslaught.
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers was left in awe of Shreyas' blitz against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians and he reserved some special praise for the right-hander's jaw-dropping shot off a Jasprit Bumrah yorker.
On the second delivery of the 18th over of PBKS' innings, Bumrah dished out a perfect yorker. However, Shreyas was up to the task as he produced arguably the shot of the IPL this season. It seemed like Shreyas was expecting a yorker as he stayed low to open the face of the bat.
He just guided the delivery wide of Reece Topley at short third-man and the ball to the boundary fence for a boundary.
Speaking about this particular shot, de Villiers said that if he had been facing that delivery, his stumps would have been rattled.
'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.
Also Read: BCCI gets Shreyas Iyer 'will captain India in multiple formats' message
'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.
Shreyas smashed five fours and eight sixes as he hit an unbeaten 81 off 41 balls to help Punjab Kings chase down 204 with six balls to spare and five wickets in hand.
Throughout the tournament, the PBKS captain has been in fine form, scoring more than 600 runs at a staggering average of more than 54. de Villiers lauded the India batter's consistency, saying he is a huge fan of the PBKS captain, who was bought for INR 26.75 crore in the mega auction.
'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,' said de Villiers.
"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," he added.
Punjab Kings will now take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on June 3.
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