Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 17 : After running into a troublesome mid-season slump with five successive losses, Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer will be aiming to help his team make the grand comeback fans have been waiting for in his 100th Indian Premier League (IPL) game as a captain against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Dharamsala.
After a dreamy start to the campaign with a historic seven-match unbeaten run, which included six wins and a no result, Iyer's men have suffered five crushing losses, which have put their qualification chances at risk, let alone finishing in the top two. However, there is no better occasion than this special century for Iyer as a captain to turn things around.
Iyer has captained Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and PBKS combined in 99 matches, with 41 of these matches coming for DC and 29 each for KKR and PBKS. He has won 56 as a captain, with two of these wins coming in a Super Over; lost 40; and three have ended in a no result.
His win percentage of 58.3 per cent (across completed matches) is level with legendary MS Dhoni for the joint-best win percentage in IPL history for a captain, as per ESPNCricinfo.
For PBKS, Iyer has won 16, lost 11, and two matches have ended in a no result, giving him a win percentage of 55.17.
Iyer is one of the finest captains in IPL history, as the only captain to have led three teams to finals: the Capitals against Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2020, KKR in 2024 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and PBKS last season against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Out of these teams, he has led KKR to a title, their first since 2014 and overall third.
Iyer has made 396 runs in 11 matches at an average of 49.50 and a strike rate of 164.31, with five fifties, but his second-half performances have been largely poor during these five losses. Except for a fine 59 against DC, Iyer has scored just 4, 5, 19 and a sluggish 30 in the remainder of his matches. Across these five losses, he has made just 117 runs at an average of 23.40.
Iyer undoubtedly has displayed the mental strength to overcome slumps and setbacks throughout his career, and this match will be no different. However, he has two tough bowlers to face.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Orange Cap holder with 22 wickets, has dismissed Iyer thrice in 11 innings, and the PBKS captain has struck at a strike rate of just 90 against him in T20s. He has made just 45 in 50 balls against the 'Swing King', hitting him for just four boundaries.
Against Hazlewood, he has fared even worse, being dismissed four times out of six innings and scoring just 11 runs in 22 balls.
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