Shreyas Iyer quickly wipes his cheek after being kissed by co-owner Ness Wadia during Punjab Kings' hotel celebration

Videos shared of Punjab Kings celebrating reaching a second IPL final in franchise history revealed Shreyas Iyer cutting a cake along with the ownership.

For the first time in 11 years, Punjab Kings are headed to the IPL finals, after finishing top of the group stage and beating Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets in Qualifier 2 of the tournament. This was already the first time Punjab headed to the playoffs since 2014, and Shreyas Iyer and company made the most of it as they gear up for the final against RCB, with the chance to win the title for the first time in franchise history.

Shreyas Iyer and Ness Wadia after PBKS' win over MI in Qualifier 2.

With all that in mind, it is understandable why it was an emotional day for the Punjab ownership, who have always been very involved with the team without tasting much success. That changed on Sunday evening, as Iyer played a true captain’s knock, one of the finest in IPL playoff history to score 87*(41) as PBKS chased down 204 against Mumbai.

In the dressing room celebrations afterwards, Iyer cut a cake along with Punjab owner Ness Wadia to celebrate Punjab’s second IPL final appearance. After Wadia fed Iyer a bite of the cake to congratulate him for reaching yet another IPL final as captain, he also planted a kiss on his cheek.

However, fans noticed that soon after the moment, a stony-faced Iyer, focused on the task at hand of preparing for the IPL final, picked up a napkin, wiped his face, and made way.

‘Locked in’ Shreyas guns for consecutive titles

Iyer was looking extremely focused during his innings against Mumbai, which considering the situation and all the context behind the game, is certainly one that will live long in the memory. After hitting eight huge sixes in his innings, Iyer barely celebrated after scoring the winning one, with his body language making clear that he didn’t think he had done enough yet.

“As far as I see it, the job is only half-finished,” Iyer had said in the post-match interview, where he also received the player of the match award. Iyer also said he was ‘locked in’, placing a clean focus on going on to beat RCB in Ahmedabad in Tuesday’s final. While Iyer admitted he would take a minute to celebrate the win, a quick turnaround means the Punjab fans will want their captain to remain in this frame of mind as they hunger for their first title in 18 years of the tournament’s history.