Shreyas Iyer showcased his brilliance with both the bat and his leadership in Punjab Kings’ opening game. What makes him so special, and could he be Punjab’s lucky charm this season?
When Punjab Kings bought Shreyas Iyer for Rs 26.75 crore in the 2025 IPL Auction, they would have believed they had hit the jackpot. And their trust has not been misplaced so far as Iyer led from the front with a knock of 97 not out to steer Punjab to a win over Gujarat Titans in their opening clash in IPL 2025. Punjab looked to have finally got a captain who looked determined to win a trophy for them. Punjab have reasons to celebrate as they can count on their skipper Iyer to inspire and motivate his teammates by leading from the front with selfless knocks. Here are a few observations that make Iyer the captain that Punjab always wished for.
Iyer leads from the front
Iyer came into bat at No 3 against Gujarat, and struck the first ball for four, and the fourth ball for six. He knew defending a target at Ahmedabad would be tough, especially with dew all around the ground later in the match. Hence, he went hard after each bowler, ensuring Punjab finish with a big total. He didn’t go by any bowler’s reputation and went by his instinct. He cracked two straight sixes off Rashid Khan, who is among the best T20 bowlers in the world. What was good to notice about Iyer was that he never let the pressure to make a tall score affect him as he paced his innings brilliantly. He attacked when it was needed, while anchoring the innings, and accelerated again in the death. He smacked the 17th over bowled by Prasidh Krishna for three sixes and a four. He went on to score 97 not out off 42 balls with 5 fours and 9 sixes. For the records, Iyer made his personal best IPL score of 97 not out.
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Selfless innings
When the 19th over started, captain Iyer had the chance to ask his partner Shashank Singh to give him strike and he could have gone on to score a memorable ton on his PBKS debut. However, selfless Iyer asked Shashank to go for his shots and make those quick runs for the team. And Shashank repaid the trust, scoring 5 boundaries in the last over bowled by Mohammed Siraj. And the margin of victory was just 11 runs. Those extra few runs by Shashank in the last over eventually made the difference in the end and helped Punjab win the match. This selfless act from Iyer would win him many fans, and draw respect from his mates and opposition teams.
Smart bowling changes and good use of Impact Player
At one stage, Gujarat was cruising towards the target as they needed 70 runs off 30 balls with Jos Buttler and Sherfane Rutherford going hammer and tongs. However, captain Iyer kept his cool and made some smart bowling changes that changed the outcome of the match. He brought in Impact Player Vijaykumar Vyshak and gave him clear instructions to bowl full and wide away from the hitting arc of the batters. This instruction was diligently followed even though a few wides were conceded as Punjab stifled Gujarat to steal an 11-run victory. Credit to Iyer for giving Vyshak the confidence to bowl yorkers to win a close match.
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Iyer turns roadblocks to stepping stones to success
Over a year ago, Shreyas Iyer was in doldrums, losing his BCCI contract and being dropped from the team. He never let this setback affect him, and worked hard at domestic cricket to not only score tons of runs but also be part of winning teams or lead teams to titles. He has lifted five trophies in the last 12 months either as a captain or a player. It includes IPL 2024 with KKR; Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024, Irani Trophy 2024, Ranji Trophy 2023-24 – all with Mumbai; and Champions Trophy 2025 with India. Also, he has been highly consistent with the bat, mixing aggression in his game that is setting him apart as one of the best middle-order batters in the world currently in white-ball cricket. ”Shreyas Iyer the most improved batsman in the last 1 yr .. ready for all formats. Great to see his improvement after a few issues on length,” said former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
Hence, Punjab would be more than happier to have Iyer continue his trophy-winning streak and end their title drought. With a selfless captain and a quality middle-order batter in Iyer, Punjab could finally dream for this elusive title.
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