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The match no.68 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) just got over, between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS). As Shreyas Iyer’s side do a double over LSG, handing them a 7-wicket defeat on the night in the reverse fixture, and kept their hopes for the playoffs alive as they won a match after six consecutive losses.
It was a Shreyas Iyer masterclass tonight, scoring his first hundred in the IPL. He won the toss and opted to bowl first, making two changes, bringing back Marco Jansen and Vyshak Vijaykumar in the side. For the Super Giants, they brought back Mohammed Shami, Arshin Kulkarni, and Arjun Tendulkar, making his debut.
Josh Inglis solves LSG opening problems
After being invited to bat first, Arshin Kulkarni once again failed to capitalise on the chance and was back for a duck. Josh Inglis was once again the best batter, scoring runs alongside Ayush Badoni, as the latter was back after scoring 43 runs. Inglis scored another fifty and scored 72 runs off 44 deliveries.
Abdul Samad scored 37 runs off 20 balls, and Rishabh Pant scored 26 runs, helping LSG to post a score of 196/6 in their 20 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers, finishing his spell with 24/2 in his four overs.
Shreyas Iyer scores a brilliant hundred
While chasing Shreyas Iyer’s side was on the back foot, Priyansh Arya was back for a golden duck, and Cooper Connolly was also back on 18 runs with two quick wickets from Mohammed Shami, putting PBKS on the back foot. But from there, Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer stitched an important partnership.
The two stitched a 140-run partnership between them, with Prabhsimran being out, scoring 69 runs. Shreyas Iyer did the finishing job with three needed to win and six needed to score his century. He struck the ball out of the ground and scored his maiden IPL hundred and remained unbeaten on the score of 101* off 51 balls.
I'm ecstatic to be honest- Shreyas Iyer after scoring maiden hundred
Shreyas Iyer was happy after his century and was awarded the Player of the Match. Shreyas became the third PBKS captain to hit a century after KL Rahul (132* vs RCB, 2020) and Adam Gilchrist (106 vs RCB, 2011), and only the fourth captain to score a hundred overall in a run chase.
He said, "I'm ecstatic to be honest. It's my first hundred and came at the right time when the team needed it. We won eventually after six consecutive losses. It's a great positive and just hoping to support MI tomorrow. Elated by their performance (the bowlers). Even though we went 16 off the first over. Just to get the game back towards us Azmat bowled brilliant."
"The first over which he bowled, getting a wicket and saving those crucial runs. It's all about momentum in this situation and just to get the game back, especially Yuzi the way he came back and restricted runs. He got the crucial wicket of Rishabh Pant. Kudos to him, he leaked a lot of runs in the last game but he showed his character."
Shreyas further added, "I know if I give myself some time in the middle and time the ball as much as possible rather than getting on top of the ball and trying to score off a good ball. I feel it's necessary for me to stay out there as much as possible because then the runs keep coming. Prabh - the way he took on the bowlers, it takes two to tango."
"He seriously showed us what he's capable of. He was temperamentally active and the communication we had in the middle was sensational. It's a surreal feeling when you finish off the game and score a century. All the batsmen dream of that. Today was one of the days when I felt super. I was in a great mindspace. I knew what I wanted, knew how the wicket was playing."
Also Read: "Take a bow": Fans goes berserk after Shreyas Iyer records his maiden IPL century vs LSG
