The intent was stupendous, says Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas, who was also the player of the match, said he was focusing a lot on his breathing rather than sweating a lot out there.

Hyderabad: Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer who led his team into the IPL final with a convincing, five-wicket win against Mumbai Indians chasing down a target of 204 in the Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Sunday night, said that he loved such big occasions and always said to himself and his colleagues that the bigger the occasion, the calmer you are and you will get the best results.

Shreyas, who was also the player of the match, said he was focusing a lot on his breathing rather than sweating a lot out there.

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“ All players need to be assertive and show the intent from ball one. It’s just that the top order batters weren’t able to capitalise on their starts but the intent was stupendous,” said Shreyas, who scored a brilliant 41-ball 87 not out (5 x4, 8×6).

“Even for me when I went out there I had to take some time, but the batsman at the other end was striking pretty well. I know the more time I spend on the field, the better I play and my vision also gets better,” he said.

“ Just throw the imagination and hiccup in the bin and not think too much about where we went wrong because through the season we have been playing some amazing and the intent and positivity was imperative from the first game and one match cannot define us as a team,” Shreyas said on recovering from the loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Qualifier 1.

“I just let them (uncapped players) be what they are. I don’t ask too much of them. I love the fearlessness they bring to the table and the ideas they share,” Shreyas said.

“Even if they haven’t got that much experience I feel they have that brave nature and in such big occasions, it’s important they need to gain more experience,” he said.

“I am very comfortable around the management and everyone around me and the environment is very positive. I am just staying in the moment, cherishing the situation, going to the dressing room and celebrating with team-mates getting into the final,” Shreyas said.

“But in my mind the job was only half done so I don’t want to think too much about the final. Just go recover, get a massage and be in the right mind space,” he said. “I was locked in,” he said when asked about being in a daze just before the presentation.