Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer confirmed that he was hit on the right index finger while practicing on Saturday, which affected his batting position and forced him to get substituted out after the first innings in the clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Sunday. However, Iyer also mentioned that he didn’t know ‘what has happened’ and will undergo checks after the match. Shreyas had the finger heavily strapped when the cameras first panned on him during the first innings, with PBKS batting. He came to the crease at number five — his lowest spot this season — and scored a scratchy 25-ball 30. PBKS subbed him out in the second innings, bringing in spinner Harpreet Brar. PBKS put up 219/5 in the first innings and defended it with a margin of 10 runs to get another step closer to the playoffs. “The reason is the finger over here (pointing at his right index finger). I don’t know what has happened. Yesterday, while practising, I got hit. I will have to go and check what the issue is here,” Shreyas said in the post-match presentation ceremony. Shreyas was never out of the game, constantly giving instructions to stand-in skipper Shashank Singh from the sidelines. “I was just passing on the message to all the players to keep a positive body language, you tend to drop and feel the game has gone away from you, but I am proud of every player out there to show that sort of great and bold approach,” he said. His replacement Brar played a big role in PBKS’ win, getting rid of the belligerent Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. “He has been consistent in the nets. He wants to do the best for himself, he was hungry for this opportunity and today I feel he stepped in and delivered at his best. Congratulations to him and his mindset has been tremendous throughout,” Shreyas said. “Absolutely brilliant approach and attitude coming in after the break, the boys were in high spirits, and we also needed a rest,” he added about the overall team performance. “Going forward in the tournament, it was the right time we came in together and showed the kind of mindset to win irrespective of the situation. Going forward, we saw that the spinners were difficult to charge over, we hardly got runs off their spinners, and that’s one learning. Apart from that, we can change the game from any situation.”