Dharamsala, May 14 -- Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer described his side's six-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) as a "tough pill to swallow," but lauded the opposition batters for their match-winning efforts in a high-scoring IPL 2026 clash at the HPCA Stadium on Thursday night.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Iyer acknowledged the quality of batting from MI's Tilak Varma, praising his ability to rotate strike and play according to the field.

"(On the loss tonight) Well, absolutely a tough pill to swallow, but I don't want to pinpoint any situation over here because it was a great game of cricket. Well-fought game. He (Tilak) played amazingly, he was selecting his shots pretty well, and he manoeuvred the field nice...