Chandigarh: When Punjab Kings’ high-octane clash got going against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, the game seemed rapidly headed only in one direction. Sunrisers openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head were in full flow, tearing into the PBKS attack with a ferocity that left the home crowd in Mullanpur stunned. At 105/0 in the Powerplay, a 250-plus total loomed large, and with it, the game being decided long before the chase began.
It was in this chaos that Shreyas Iyer, calm as ever, found clarity.
Captains are often defined not by the obvious decisions, but by the unexpected ones. Iyer’s call to introduce Shashank Singh into the attack was precisely that — unexpected, even audacious. The part-time medium pacer had bowled 71 overs across 100 T20s prior to this game, but was hardly the choice to break a rampaging opening stand.
But Iyer wasn’t chasing convention. He was reading the moment.
“I needed to give myself time. Once I gauged the pace of the pitch… Shashank approached me when Abhishek and Travis were slogging, asked me to give him an over,” Iyer said later. “Ricky (coach Ponting) came and asked me, ‘What’s your thought?’ I said I’ll go with Shashank — I needed someone to take the pace off.”
And what followed applied the brakes on SRH. Shashank’s first over, seventh of the innings, went for just six runs. Yuzvendra Chahal came on and kept the eighth over also tight (9 runs). Then in the ninth over, Shashank struck twice, removing Abhishek and Head, puncturing SRH’s momentum and breathing life back into Punjab. From the prospect of conceding a mammoth total, PBKS clawed their way back to restrict SRH to 219/6 — formidable, but not insurmountable.
Ponting acknowledged the significance of that moment. “A really brave decision from the skipper to bring Shashank into the attack, take the pace off, and try and take some air out of it,” he said.
It wasn’t just about Iyer the tactician, the finisher too shone under the lights.
PBKS openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya set the tone with a breathtaking display of shots, racing to fifties and dismantling the SRH bowling attack in the Powerplay. Their fearless approach ensured that the required run rate never went out of control.
“The openers have been flowing throughout, they don’t need to curb their instincts,” Iyer said. “Once they set the platform, it was easy for us to rotate strike and go according to the run rate.”
Despite the blazing 99-run start, the chase was far from over. At 128/3 in 8.5 overs, with 92 still needed off 55 balls, the game was in balance.
Iyer, who had returned from an abdominal injury, looked determined to reclaim his space. His 69* off 33 balls wasn’t just a display of power, but of poise.
He picked his moments, found the gaps, and when required, cleared the ropes—five fours and sixes each punctuating the knock which steadily suffocated SRH’s hopes. With Shashank’s support at the other end, Iyer guided PBKS home in 18.5 overs for their third win—one No Result due to rain—to extended the unbeaten start.
For Iyer, this IPL is about leadership and resurgence. Last season, he piled up 604 runs (avg 50.33, SR 175.07), the sixth highest overall in 2026. Having led KKR to the title in 2024 and Punjab to the final last year, his captaincy credentials are established.
As PBKS prepare to face Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, they have momentum and a captain in sync with his role. For Iyer, this wasn’t just another win. It was a reminder that when the game quickens and the noise rises, he has the temperament to slow it down, shape it, and finish it on his terms.
