Shreyas Iyer Aims for Milestone Win as PBKS Faces MI in IPL Qualifier
Iyer's Quest for 50 IPL Wins
Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS), is on the verge of becoming the fifth skipper in Indian Premier League (IPL) history to achieve 50 victories. His team is set to compete against the five-time champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), in the second Qualifier held in Ahmedabad.
This match is crucial for Iyer and his PBKS squad, who dominated the league stage with nine wins out of 13 matches. They are looking to recover from a disappointing eight-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the first Qualifier, aiming to secure a spot in the final against RCB at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Iyer's Leadership Record
Throughout his IPL career, Iyer has managed three teams: Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and PBKS, totaling 85 matches with 49 wins, including two ties, and 34 losses. He has a win percentage exceeding 57%.
With DC, he secured 23 victories out of 41 matches, achieving a win rate of 56.09%. Notably, he led them to their first final in 2020, where they finished as runners-up to MI. Under his leadership, KKR claimed their first IPL title in a decade last year, winning 17 out of 29 matches. Currently, with PBKS, he has recorded nine wins, five losses, and one no-result, boasting a win percentage of 60.
Joining the Elite Club
Only four captains in IPL history have reached the milestone of 50 wins: MS Dhoni (136 wins in 235 matches) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rising Pune Supergiant (RPG), Rohit Sharma (87 wins in 158 matches) for MI, Virat Kohli (66 wins in 143 matches) for RCB, and Gautam Gambhir (71 wins in 129 matches) for DC and KKR.
This season, Iyer has amassed 516 runs, averaging 46.90 with a strike rate of 170.86, including five half-centuries, with his highest score being an impressive 97*.
Will Iyer Achieve His 50th Win?
The question remains: will Iyer secure his 50th IPL victory, paving the way for PBKS to seek redemption against RCB?
Team Lineups
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep Singh, Musheer Naushad Khan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Xavier Bartlett, Suryansh Shedge, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash.
Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Richard Gleeson, Ashwani Kumar, Robin Minz, Raghu Sharma, Krishnan Shrijith, Reece Topley, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Charith Asalanka, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacobs, Satyanarayana Raju.