AHMEDABAD: As Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar walked into the ground floor press conference room of the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, after finishing the captaincy photoshoot, the former looked tired. It was understandable considering the fact that less than 15 hours ago, Shreyas was out on the field after winning the Qualifier 2 game for Punjab Kings against Mumbai Indians at the same venue.
The Mumbaikar smashed an unbeaten 87 off 41 balls — which he would go on to classify as the best T20 knock he has played — ripping apart the mighty Mumbai Indians bowling attack. He did so without breaking a sweat, uttering a word, showing a shred of emotion before spitting out the chewing gum and walking off the field.
So, given a choice, he probably would not want to be back in the venue in about 15 hours again; the Punjab team did not train, but the captain had to come for the press conference. After the successful chase, which went on till 2 AM on Monday, all he wanted to do was go to his room and crash. That is what he said when asked if there was any update on the fitness of Yuzvendra Chahal. “All I can say is that I went back to my room and slept,” Shreyas said on the eve of the final.
Sleep, however, did not come easily. Such was the intensity of the knock in what was the most important game Punjab had played till Monday, adding the fact that he knew he had to come back again and do it all over on Tuesday, Shreyas could not switch off. “I couldn't sleep. Seriously, I only got 4 hours of sleep last night. And here I am sitting,” he explained.
In his own words, Shreyas was “locked in” during the chase against Mumbai. It is a “zone” he goes into long before the match begins — right from the warm-ups, he says. When he came on to bat, Shreyas took his time before exploding, including against Jasprit Bumrah. The shot he played to send Bumrah’s pinpoint yorker to the boundary has already been made into a GIF and played on repeat. “I had a certain plan of how I was going to play on this particular pitch. It was red soil, so I had to plan. Once my eyes are set, you just need to get your eyesight locked in and be in the zone. So, after that, it was just about the flow. And yeah, thankfully that I clicked,” Shreyas said, before adding, “Winning the match for the team, obviously the best feeling in the world. And on a pressure occasion, yes, I would rate this the topmost innings of mine.”
In many ways, the zone Shreyas was in on Sunday is where he has been in throughout the season. Right from their first game at this same venue — an unbeaten 97 against Gujarat Titans that kickstarted the dominating campaign — Shreyas has been “locked in” every time he walked onto the field. The numbers tell the story in themselves — 603 runs at 54.81 average and 175.8 strike rate — Shreyas’ impact this season goes beyond statistics. This year has been about Shreyas making one statement after another.
It has helped that he has a good relationship with head coach Ricky Ponting. “He is an amazing coach who manages the player precisely. I personally feel that one thing that stands out with him is that he treats everyone equally. I have never seen his emotions go up and down irrespective of the results, and that is the sign of a great coach. It is simply phenomenal to be around him,” Shreyas said.
The duo had taken Delhi Capitals to the playoffs twice, final once in 2020, but hadn’t been able to cross the final hurdle. That, however, was five years ago. Since then, Shreyas has won an IPL as captain. As he walks onto the field on Tuesday for the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he knows that he has been there and done that before; he knows that all he has to do is continue what he and his team have done through the season.
It was what he was thinking about even before the chase was done on Sunday. “I felt like my job is half done and it's not yet finished (on why he did not celebrate his fifty). We have a match tomorrow. My approach was that my job is half done, and I have to come back tomorrow. I have to play the match again. So, I was thinking that recovery is important. I was thinking about how to prepare myself,” he said.
It is the kind of mentality Shreyas and Ponting have instilled in the team. And it reflected in the campaign Punjab announced ahead of the season. Their theme, right from the start, has been just three words: “Bas, Jeetna hai (Just got to win it)”. Expect Shreyas and his lad to walk in with the same mindset at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.