Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer admitted they lost the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Powerplay overs after they suffered a 23-run loss at Dharamshala on Sunday. In the run chase of 223, PBKS lost three early wickets, which put them on the backfoot.

Priyansh Arya was dismissed in the first over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar without troubling the scorers. Kumar then dismissed Prabhsimran Singh as the PBKS wicket-keeper was caught at first slip by Devdutt Padikkal. Shreyas Iyer was then caught behind by RCB stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma after managing a solitary run.

Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation, “Obviously, they got off to a great start and then started taking on the bowlers right after the powerplay. I think getting to 222 was a commendable performance and we weren’t able to take wickets in the bowling that much, but yeah, I think the match was lost in the powerplay.”

Iyer expressed his disappointment after the loss but gave credit to Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh for scoring impressive knocks to keep them in the contest.

The PBKS skipper added when asked about the difficult chase after losing early wickets, “Absolutely. We were three down and the majority of our run scorers were Prabhsimran and Priyansh. The starts they used to give us in the powerplay, obviously we couldn’t get this time and also me coming in and getting out early. Really disappointed, but commendable performance by Shashank and Stoinis and also a few others in the middle.”

Speaking on his mindset after losing six matches on the trot, Iyer concluded, “I’m always positive irrespective of the results. It doesn’t dictate how my personality is and I always approach with a strong attitude. I’m not someone who dwells too much in the past. This is over, this is gone. Tomorrow again I’m going to see the sunrise and there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”

Punjab Kings will play their last league match against Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Saturday.