Shreyas Iyer missed out on a well-deserved century against the Gujarat Titans on Tuesday (March 25). He remained unbeaten on 97 off 42 deliveries to win the Man of the Match award. His selfless gesture while being close to a century has won the hearts of the fans.
Shreyas Iyer is ‘THE CAPTAIN’ you need if you want to win big tournaments like IPL! Yes, this statement might be coming in too early, but what he did in the game against the Gujarat Titans is seldom witnessed. Not many players are keen on missing out on a century (unless they get out) when they are in the middle and so close to it. But Iyer had that grit and courage when he was on 97 to tell his batting partner Shashank Singh to just tonk the ball and not think about giving him the strike.
Let us delve into the situation even more deeply: Punjab Kings were 220 runs after 19 overs, and Iyer was unbeaten on 97 then. But he was not on strike. Shashank Singh had played 10 balls in his innings by then and was smashing the ball well. This is when Iyer could’ve easily asked him to take a single and got to his milestone.
But then, this is where Iyer stood tall, telling his partner to keep on hitting boundaries and not at all think about giving him the strike. Punjab got 23 runs in the last over and that eventually made the difference. Shashank revealed his conversation with the PBKS skipper after the match. “I didn’t see the scoreboard to be very honest, but after the first ball I hit, I saw the scoreboard and Shreyas was on 97.
“I was going to ask him if I should take a single or something, but he only came and told me to not worry about his hundred. It takes a lot of heart and courage to say that because obviously, hundreds don’t come easily in T20, especially in IPL. That gave me even more confidence,” he said.
Fast forward to the result: Punjab Kings won by 11 runs.
These are little incidents that prove cricket is a team sport. An individual milestone means nothing if the team loses and that could’ve happened if Iyer had asked for a single to get to his century. Also, it is nothing wrong to do that as scoring a century in T20 cricket, especially IPL, is very difficult. Moreover, it was a chance for the Punjab captain to notch up a ton for the first time in the cash-rich league.
But then, Iyer showed heart and led by example, setting the benchmark for his team for the rest of the season. This is how you win tournaments, by earning the trust of teammates and by showing them the way to do certain things. Shreyas Iyer has laid a platform for Punjab Kings, and it is up to the players now to follow his path with the same goal – TO WIN THE TROPHY.
