Shreyas Iyer was left stranded three runs short of his maiden IPL century, not facing a single delivery in the last over of the first innings between Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans, finishing unbeaten on 97 having been on 90 with three overs to go.
Shreyas, who switched from captaining Kolkata Knight Riders last season to Punjab Kings this year, walked out to bat at No.3 after Prabhsimran Singh fell in the fourth over. Along with debutant Priyansh Arya, who made 47 in 23, he gave Punjab a rollicking start, as they made 73 runs in the first powerplay.
Despite the dismissal of Arya in the seventh over, Shreyas did not let the intensity drop, making 27 in his first 14 balls and then reaching his fifty in 28 deliveries.
He quickly moved into the nineties after a 24-run over off the bowling of Prasidh Krishna, needing ten more runs in the last three overs to reach his hundred.
However, he only faced four more balls between overs 18-20, making seven runs as Shashank Singh, last year’s IPL hero, stole the show. Shashank smashed 42 in just 14 balls in the death overs, including hitting Mohammed Siraj for 23 runs in the 20th.
Shreyas, who conceded the strike to his partner on the last ball of the penultimate over, could not face another ball thereafter as Shashank hit five fours to take the score to 243-5. The two batters could have snuck in a bye after Siraj gave a wide on the fifth ball, but the two decided against it.
However, the uncapped player was unperturbed about leaving his captain of 97*, saying Shreyas asked him not to think of the milestone. Speaking to Ravi Shastri after the innings, he said: “Let me be very honest, Shreyas from ball one told me, ‘Shashank, don’t think of my hundred. Just play your shots and finish it well’. So, kudos to him, the way he spoke to me before the over.”
Shastri also praised Shreyas for his attitude: “That’s the right thing to say in a team game.”
Shreyas has scored three hundreds in all T20s, averaging 33.54 in 224 matches.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
