"It's interesting," Punjab Kings (PBKS) assistant coach Brad Haddin said with a chuckle. "In the batters' meeting, when you talk about rotating the strike, they say, we don't need to do that anymore; we just put it in the second tier."
It may have sounded like exaggeration, or arrogance, perhaps even a touch of dressing-room humour. But you can't argue with that after the PBKS made a 200-plus chase look like a mere formality for the second game in a row.
Against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai last week, they made 209 look 20 short. In New Chandigarh against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, they first pulled the game back from the brink of 250, and then chased down 220 with seven balls to spare. On both occasions, Shreyas Iyer controlled the tempo of the chase with half-centuries.
It was the tenth time PBKS had successfully chased down a 200-plus target in the IPL - the most by any team in the IPL, comfortably ahead of second-placed Mumbai Indians (six).
The genesis of their Saturday chase lay in the surge provided up top. Through the sheer weight of his performances, Priyansh Arya has begun to question the very idea of second-season blues, while Prabhsimran Singh - leaner and fitter - has evolved into a far more complete batter, adding range to his already fearless approach.
The pair had an incredible 99-run stand in just 6.2 overs, their audacity matching that of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma from earlier in the day.
Iyer then walked in and allowed himself a brief period of recalibration. He was on a run-a-ball 6 to begin with, even surviving a near-chop-on against left-arm wristspinner Shivang Kumar, before slipping into control mode.
Control, here, wasn't milking singles but picking his spots and having the confidence in executing them. Like he did while lining up and dispatching Harshal Patel's variations for two fours and a six in the 15th to kickstart their final surge. Those hits off slower deliveries off different lengths were dispatched to different corners. Iyer wasn't premeditating; he was reading them off the hand and the surface.
In the next over, Eshan Malinga received similar treatment. Within minutes, the equation was down to 23 required from 24. In his assessment of the chase, Iyer was modest about his own role and credited the openers for their tempo, which had a knock-on effect.
"At the end of the day, all of us know that we've got the skills," Iyer said. "But it's important to have a strong mindset in such chases. Openers, we don't need to tell them how to go about it. They have been flowing right from the start, so there's no need to curb their instincts.
"And for the rest of us, when they set a platform like that from ball one, it becomes easier to just rotate strike and go with the run rate. Overall, our work ethic has been magnificent."
"The way they [openers] showed how to play the powerplay, it was magnificent to watch. It was pleasing to the eye. They played proper cricketing shots and steadied the rhythm at the start. Then it was kind of, I wouldn't say easy, but just about maintaining that momentum. I just told myself I needed to give it a little bit of time, gauge the pace of the wicket, and then capitalise. Thankfully, it worked out."
Iyer makes this method seem simple, but it requires the collective clarity that coach Ricky Ponting and Co have been able to give to the group. And there has been a collective buy-in, with team culture at the forefront of this change PBKS have embarked on since 2025.
"Even in the two-day break we had, everyone came together, trained hard, worked their bodies off. You can see that effort translating on the field," Iyer said.
Some of this change has been triggered by their history of near-misses, like in 2025. Which is why they aren't celebrating yet, despite sitting pretty with three wins and a washout from four games.
"You need to be in the present. You can't think much about what's happened or what's going to happen," Iyer said. "Ricky also gives a lot of importance to this. It signifies the character of our team. Last year we came close. This year, we're eyeing the trophy. But it will take hard work, process and effort from every individual."
For Haddin, there is a sense that they are not yet playing to full potential - quite something for a team sitting in the top three.
"We probably haven't played our best game yet. We haven't put everything together, but we're getting the results we're after," Haddin said. "As the tournament goes on, you want to be playing your best cricket… and that's slowly starting to come together now."
Which, perhaps, is the most ominous part. Because if this is PBKS still kicking into gear, while making 200-plus chases feel routine, other teams better watch out.