Courtesy: BCCI/IPL
On Wednesday, April 30, Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS), scored 72 off 41 with five fours and four maximums, to help his team chase down the 191-run target set by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the exploits from Shreyas Iyer not only took PBKS a step closer to making the playoffs, but they also eliminated CSK from the race at the same time.
Before Shreyas Iyer came into his own with the bat in the pursuit of 191-run target, it was Yuzvendra Chahal’s 19th over in the CSK innings, which turned the match completely on its head. The right-arm leg spinner took four wickets in one over, including a hat-trick, which ensured that PBKS were able to bowl out Chennai for 190 runs with balls not being faced by the opposition batting lineup, which proved to be the ultimate difference.
In the run chase, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh got off to a flyer once again before the former lost his wicket in the 20s, leaving PBKS 44/1 in 4.4 overs, which signalled the arrival of Shreyas Iyer to the crease. The captain of the Punjab franchise never looked in any trouble during his stay at the crease despite the weather being hot and humid at Chepauk, accumulating runs at a good pace, to keep the required run rate in check.
Shreyas Iyer was given player of the match award for his batting exploits against CSK in IPL 2025
He shared a 72-run stand with Prabhsimran Singh, who ended up scoring back-to-back fifties in the IPL, to set up the chase wonderfully well. After the departure of the PBKS opener, Shreyas Iyer took the mantle of taking his team forward on his own, getting into the seventies before being cleaned-up by Matheesha Pathirana when he tried to finish off the match with a flourish.
It allowed CSK to have a sniff at potential clinching a win from the jaws of defeat, but Marco Jansen struck a four when the scores were level, to take PBKS over the line with four wickets in hand and two balls to spare.
