AHMEDABAD: Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer put the team ahead of personal milestones as he urged teammate Shashank Singh to go for boundaries in the final over, even though it meant missing out on his maiden IPL century.
Iyer was left stranded on 97* off 42 balls as Shashank smashed five fours and a double in the last over off Mohammed Siraj, collecting 23 runs. The onslaught powered PBKS to a formidable 243 for 5, securing an 11-run win over Gujarat Titans in their season opener.
Shashank, who played a blistering 16-ball 44*, revealed that Iyer never asked him to rotate the strike.
"I didn't see the scoreboard, to be very honest. But after the first ball I hit (for four), I saw the scoreboard and Shreyas was on 97," Shashank told the media after the match on Tuesday.
"I didn't say anything, he only came and told me, 'Shashank, don't worry about my hundred,' because obviously I was going to ask if I should give him a single or something. It takes a lot of heart and courage to say that because hundreds don’t come easily in T20s, especially in the IPL," he added.
Shashank said Iyer's instructions were clear—attack the bowler without hesitation.
"Shreyas told me, 'Shashank, go and just (try and) hit every ball for a boundary, a four or a six.' That gave me even more confidence. Obviously, it’s a team game at the end of the day, we all know that," he said.
"But in those situations, it’s difficult to be that selfless. But Shreyas was one. I have known him for the past 10-15 years. He is the same, and he told me just to be calm, play cricketing shots as I usually do, maintain my balance, and I think we had a good finish," added Shashank.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans spinner R Sai Kishore, who finished with figures of 3 for 30 in four overs, admitted that his team believed they were ahead in the game.
"We were also surprised, to be honest. We thought we were on course. We thought we were ahead of the game, we thought so," Sai Kishore said.
"But in that situation, I think no matter what planning you do, if you are able to be fully zoned in on the present moment, that makes the difference, and these games happen."
Chasing 244, GT fell short despite strong contributions from Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler, finishing at 232 for 5.
Sai Kishore lamented the lack of boundaries in the middle overs and credited PBKS bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak for his execution at the death.
"This is also the first game of the season. We will learn together. We will come back stronger, work on the areas we need to improve, and compete again," he said.
"We were on course with Sai (Sudharsan) and (Jos) Buttler going very well. In the end, in the last five overs, to be honest, (Vijaykumar) Vyshak bowled brilliantly. All credit to Vyshak for the way he executed his yorkers. To be fair, I think those balls... it’s very easy for me to say, but we could have tried to hit more boundaries instead of just looking for sixes. That is a learning going forward, and we will do that," he added.
