Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India] June 2 (ANI): Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer emphasised the importance of remaining calm in high-pressure situations, believing that the bigger the occasion, the better the results.

He mentioned focusing on his breathing during his outing against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) and highlighted the need for assertive intent from all players when chasing a high target.

Shreyas Iyer led from the front as PBKS completed a convincing chase to beat MI by five wickets in Qualifier 2, thus booking their place in the final of IPL 2025 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

A majestic 87 off 41 balls, as PBKS chased down 204 with an over to spare. Josh Inglis laid the foundation with a whirlwind 21-ball 38, smashing 20 off an over from Jasprit Bumrah.

'(On being calm while batting) I don't know, to be honest, I love such big occasions. I always say to myself and to my colleagues in the team that the bigger the occasion, the calmer you are, the better the results. Today was a right example where I was focusing more on my breathing rather than sweating out there. (On chasing a 200+ target) All players need to be assertive and show intent from ball one. The intent was stupendous, and even for me, I had to take some time,' Shreyas Iyer said during the post-match presentation.

Iyer also addressed the team's bounce-back mentality after a loss to RCB earlier in the season. 'From the other end, the batsmen were striking pretty well. I know the more time I spend on the field, the better I get, and my vision also gets better. (After the loss against RCB) Just throw the imagination and also the hiccup in the bin and not think too much about where we went wrong because throughout the season we've been playing amazing,' he said.

Nehal Wadhera's partnership with Shreyas Iyer was the standout in the Punjab innings. The duo added 84 runs for the fourth wicket before Ashwani Kumar removed Wadhera in the 16th over. Earlier in the first innings, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav played crucial knocks of 44 apiece as Mumbai Indians posted 203/6 in 20 overs.

Shreyas Iyer was awarded Player of the match for his match-winning innings of 87 off 41 balls, his innings included five fours and eight sixes. (ANI)