IPL 2025: Yuzi Chahal’s hat-trick and Shreyas Iyer’s blistering knock sees Punjab Kings roar

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Punjab Kings were simply superb as they slammed the doors on Chennai Super Kings to keep their hopes of a spot in the Playoffs intact in the IPL 2025.

Inside a veritable steamy cauldron that the MA Chidambaram Stadium was in Chennai, captain Shreyas Iyer and dangerous trickster Yuzvendra Chahal rocked CSK in their own backyard to win by four wickets.

The points table at the top looks a bit like a snake and ladder game, though, on Wednesday night, it was the Punjab Kings who came out hissing,

Chennai is famous for a snake park in Guindy. Chennai is also famous for a lot more in the IPL but their campaign in the latest season is kaput. Given the legacy of CSK, they have bombed at the box office, leaving so many fans distraught.

And the men who showed they are not going to ease the pressure were Yuzi Chahal, whose four-wicket haul sent CSK reeling. It included a hat-trick as well in the 19th over, as the hosts looked capable of going beyond 200 runs at one stage with Sam Curran batting bravely. Then came that spell from Yuzi, full of tricks, guile and venom.

Conditions were not easy, wiping sweat, handling the heat, where the average fan was gasping for breath. This was pressure and this was also a situation where showing physical strength in terms of mastering the conditions was also important.

At this stage in the IPL, the wicket at Chepauk, as the Chennai venue is also known, is far from ideal. There have been accusations CSK tailoring the pitch to suit their own bowlers. It exploded on their face as Yuzi, short in height but tall in nature rolled his arm over. He bamboozled the CSK batters, getting rid of skipper MS Dhoni, Deeepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj and Noor Ahmad.

A hat-trick, where Chahal was playing mind games like a chess whiz-kid left CSK in a trance, or trauma.

To bowl three overs, conceded 32 runs and claim four wickets, this was legendary stuff from a bowler who has been confined to cold storage by Team India. Yuzi does not mind it, he has had his moments under Virat Kohli's captaincy as a bowler who can flatten the opposition. For old timers who have watched the man from Jind, Haryana smile, it was a great sight.

To be sure, the template which Punjab Kings have worked on has flair, feel and fluency. Skipper Shreyas Iyer has shown time and again how he is the most under-rated Indian cricketer, who still has to keep performing like the proverbial underdog.

What fans and the BCCI bosses do not realise, Shreyas will keep coming up with stuff which is daring. He has been able to mesh well with coach Ricky Ponting, whose stint at Punjab Kings is turning out to be a productive one. To keep the flock together, ideate at the team meetings and ensure team owner Preity Zinta showers love and care on them has made Punjab Kings look solid.

There is every reason to believe they will go whole hog in the last few league matches, where the top five teams are still in the hunt.

Back to the match, Punjab have been helped this season to a large extent by their top order where Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh have been very effective. Priyansh fell for 23 but Singh is King, as he smashed 54 off 36 balls.

The piece de resistance came from Shreyas Iyer as he faced pace and spin adroitly. His game sense has never been in doubt. People say he is good for India in the ODI format. What the myopic fans and the BCCI selectors are ignoring is how Shreyas has shown how to bat in the T20s.

He used to be always solid against the spinners, something learnt from the Bombay school of batting where using the feet and focusing on the basics has been important. The new dimension he has added is to tackle the fast bowlers also with the same aggro and give them the 'belt treatment.'

After all, to score 72 runs off 41 deliveries and bat deep worked for him and Punjab Kings. For those statistically minded and obsessed with data, Shreyas slammed five fours and ensured the fans inside the venue would see the white ball flying in the air at great velocity. To execute four sixes, Shreyas has shown hunger and a hang of how to pace himself so well. This season has also been defining for him, just as it was last year as captain of KKR.

Can Punjab Kings go the last stretch hog and peak through the remainder of the matches? The answer is a yes, they are keeping things simple and executing a strategy of team over individuals. And for the leader to show the way, Shreyas has been defining.