New Chandigarh, April 6 Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reflected on Punjab Kings' skipper Shreyas Iyer's dismissal against Rajasthan Royals and its broader impact on the team, saying that the way Iyer was dismissed sends a "wrong message in the dressing room."
In the chase of 206, Iyer was attempting a lofty shot off Jofra Archer's bowling but lost track of it completely and the ball castled the gates, which sent the skipper back to the hut for a mere 10 runs, reducing the visitors to 11-2 in the first over of their chase.
Iyer has been in red-hot form in the IPL this year. He scored an unbeaten 97 in PBKS’ first match against Gujarat Titans. He then remained unbeaten on 52 runs against Lucknow Super Giants before getting dismissed cheaply against RR.
"It was actually very hard for me to see that kind of dismissal of Shreyas Iyer. That shot was terrible—and it's not just about how you get out. It’s just that a dismissal like that, especially of the captain in form, sends the wrong message in the dressing room. It might not leave them disheartened, but it certainly doesn't make them feel upbeat about their own chances. That wicket had more impact than just one batter getting out," Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.
Asked to bat first, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag helped Rajasthan Royals reach a daunting total of 205/4 in the first innings, making it the first 200+ score at the venue.
PBKS got off to the worst possible start in their chase of 206 as Archer bowled both Priyansh Arya (0) and Shreyas Iyer (10) in the first over. Sandeep Sharma then removed Marcus Stoinis for just one, and Punjab were reduced to 26/3 inside four overs.
Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell launched a mini-fightback with an 88-run stand. Wadhera led the charge and brought up his fifty, but their resistance ended abruptly. But Sandeep, Maheesh Theekshana and Archer proceeded to clear the lower order and hand Punjab their first defeat of the season.
"And this Rajasthan Royals team—with Yashasvi Jaiswal getting runs—is starting to look good. They've got a very interesting bowling combination as well. In Archer, one of the best new-ball bowlers; in Sandeep Sharma, one of the best death-over specialists; and players like Maheesh Theekshana in the middle overs are beginning to shine," he added.
Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke also weighed in on Iyer’s dismissal and PBKS' overall approach and said, "I thought Rajasthan Royals did well to reach 200 runs—that was a really good total. Punjab Kings were probably disappointed they allowed that many. But that first ball from Jofra Archer really set the tone for Rajasthan Royals. It was an absolute beauty.
"Then Shreyas followed it up with two unbelievable cover drives—up and over cover. But then, that fast bounce… it may have put him on the back foot. The next ball, he steps away—not the best-looking shot—and gets his stumps ripped out."
"Three wickets in the powerplay always make things difficult. Rajasthan Royals started really well with the ball. They batted well too, given the surface. There wasn’t any dew, some wind earlier in the day likely kept it away. So even though Shreyas won the toss and chose to chase expecting dew, it didn’t arrive," he added.
PBKS will look to take the lessons from this defeat in stride and focus on making a strong comeback when they face Chennai Super Kings on April 8.
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