Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer (AP Photo) Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer endured a rare day off with the bat as his side slipped to their first defeat in IPL 2026, with Rajasthan Royals chasing down a successful 223 in a high-scoring contest on Tuesday.Iyer entered the match in strong form and never found his rhythm. He worked 30 off 27 deliveries, managing just one boundary and a six, which slowed PBKS down during a crucial phase of the innings. While Marcus Stoinis provided the late fireworks with a blistering 62 off just 22 balls to take the total to 222 for 4, it ultimately proved insufficient.
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Axar Patel shares a big update on Mitchell StarcSince then, there have been questions surrounding Iyer’s approach, especially with aggressive options like Marco Jansen and Nehal Wadhera waiting in the dugout but not given the opportunity to bat. The situation sparked a debate as to whether Iyer might have considered retirement to speed up the innings.However, former South African pacer Shaun Pollock felt that such a move would depend heavily on the batting options available. “It depends on who comes in. So if Stoinis has played two knocks like he did today and he’s still got to come in, you can think about it. But I don’t think there’s anyone in the order you’d think would be in better form,” Pollock told Cricbuzz.Pollock also pointed to a similar situation from his time in SA20 with the Pretoria Capitals. “We had an example in our SA20. We promoted Roston Chase but we had Rutherford who was in incredible form and was hitting over 200. Roston had a bit of a period (of slow batting). We pulled him off with two overs. We also wanted a left-hander at the crease,” he explained.“So when you have somebody, strategically, if you feel like the captain, yeah, I’m not going to hit it today and you want to make a change,” he added, stressing the tactical nature of such calls.Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle offered a different view, suggesting that Iyer’s recent form may have influenced his decision to continue. “If you’re an in-form player, you’re always backing yourself. So he’s thinking yes, I know, but I’m probably going to hit three sixes from here,” Bhogle said.Pollock further noted that retirement decisions are becoming more common in modern T20 cricket. “It’s a bold call, but it’s definitely happening more and more,” he said.Despite the loss, Iyer has enjoyed an impressive season so far, ranking among the top six players of the tournament and leading PBKS to the top of the table.Earlier in the match, PBKS scored an impressive total on Stoinis’ late charge and a steady 59 from Prabhsimran Singh. However, Rajasthan Royals responded with intent. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed 43 off 16 balls and Yashasvi Jaiswal added 51 off 27 to give the chase an initial boost with 51 runs.The game was eventually sealed by a dominant unbeaten partnership between Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey. Ferreira made 52 off 26 balls while Dubey chipped in with a brisk 31 off just 12 deliveries to guide Rajasthan home with four balls to spare.
