'I’m obviously a huge fan' - AB de Villiers praises Shreyas Iyer's sublime knock against MI in IPL 2025 Qualifier 2

AB de Villiers was in awe of Shreyas Iyer, who helped Punjab Kings beat Mumbai Indians by five wickets in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with his 87*(41) to enter the final of the IPL 2025. The South African, who himself played a match-winning knock in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2016, claimed to be a huge fan of the star batter.

The JioStar expert credited Iyer for playing an outstanding knock under pressure when it mattered the most. The former South African batter praised Iyer's late cut against Jasprit Bumrah and described it as the shot of the night. The former RCB batter believed there were more runs to come from Iyer's blade.

"I’m obviously a huge fan. What happened in the game was out of this world, and Shreyas deserves full credit. Under extreme pressure, he delivered when it mattered. That four off Bumrah past the slip cordon — for me, that was the shot of the night. His sixes were clean, no mishits. He stays calm, doesn’t get arrogant or overly emotional — just very level-headed. There are many more runs in him," said De Villiers in the JioHotstar dugout.

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Iyer's knock leads Punjab Kings to IPL final after 11 years

Shreyas Iyer played one of the best knocks in the history of the IPL. The right-handed batter was up against one of the best teams and a very good bowling attack. Chasing 204 against MI was never going to be easy, as the Mumbai-based franchise had never lost a match while defending a total of over 200 before Qualifier 2 of the 18th edition of the league.

During his stay in the middle, the aggressive batter scored an unbeaten 87*(41), which included 5 fours and 8 sixes. Iyer was 19(15) after 12 overs and took off spectacularly from there to help his side win the match. His knock ensured the 2014 finalists made it to their second IPL final after 11 long years. PBKS will face RCB on 3 June in Ahmedabad in search of their first IPL title.