Shashank Singh had faced only ten balls when he came in to bat. At the other end, with just one over remaining in Punjab Kings’ innings against Gujarat Titans, was his captain Shreyas Iyer, who was on 97. Iyer was the established batter, having hit nine sixes, and he had never scored a hundred in the IPL.
However, Shashank mentioned that he was told “to hit every ball for a four and a six,” without worrying about giving Shreyas the strike. He did exactly that, hitting five fours and scoring 23 runs off the final over, helping PBKS reach 243 for 5 in their IPL 2025 opener. This total was 11 runs more than Gujarat’s target.
“I didn’t see the scoreboard to be honest, but after the first ball I hit, I saw Shreyas was on 97,” Shashank said after the match. “I was going to ask him if I should take a single or something, but he came and told me not to worry about his hundred. It takes a lot of heart and courage to say that because hundreds don’t come easily in T20, especially in the IPL. That gave me even more confidence.”
Iyer and Shashank put together an unbeaten 81 runs off just 28 balls, helping PBKS add 77 runs in the last four overs. Iyer, who was batting at No. 3 for the first time in the IPL since 2022, faced only four balls in the last three overs. Shashank scored 44 off 16 balls, and Iyer ended unbeaten on 97 off 42.
“It’s a team game, we all know that, but in those situations, it’s hard to be selfless, yet Shreyas was,” said Shashank, who started his domestic career with Mumbai before moving to Chhattisgarh.
“I’ve known him for the last 15 years, and he’s always been the same. He told me to stay calm, play my usual cricketing shots, and keep my balance. By God’s grace, we had a good finish.”
Shashank Singh plays a shot in the IPLGT had the tough task of chasing the second-highest total in the IPL, but Sai Sudharsan kept them in the game with 74 runs off 41 balls. Jos Buttler and Sherfane Rutherford also hit big shots as GT scored 87 runs between the 9th and 14th overs.
The target of 75 runs off 36 balls seemed achievable with the dew making it harder for the bowlers, until PBKS’ Impact Player Vijaykumar Vyshak delivered an amazing spell.
Vyshak gave away only ten runs in his first two overs, bowling ten dot balls. PBKS managed to bowl three consecutive overs without giving up a boundary. GT struggled to recover from this slowdown.
“Shreyas is someone who trusts his instincts as a captain. That’s why he’s one of the best captains around right now,” said Shashank. “I also felt it was the right time to bring Vyshak in, and the way he bowled… in the bowling meeting, we usually discuss these things, so this was part of the plan. The way he executed it was impressive. Those were tough overs to bowl because of the dew.”
“These are the moments you need to win. Vyshak came in and nailed it. It’s tough to bowl those yorkers, but he did his job perfectly, and credit goes to him.”
