Captain Shreyas Iyer roared back into form with a sublime maiden IPL ton and stayed unbeaten till the end to help PBKS stay alive in the playoffs race. Shreyas Iyer led from the front with his knock and he was ably supported by Prabhsimran Singh. Before that LSG batted first and riding on 72 off 44 balls by Josh Inglis and cameos from Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad powered LSG to 196/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, PBKS lost Priyansh Arya, and Cooper Connolly. But Shreyas Iyer, the captain stood tall while Prabhsimrn Singh gave him great support as the duo put on 140 runs for the 3rd wicket to take the game away from the opposition. Prabhsimran made 69 off 39 balls while Iyer made an unbeaten 101 off 51 balls to take his side home and keep his side in the running.
Josh Inglis’ Whirlwind 72 helps LSG post a fighting 196/6 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, Josh Inglis and Arshin Kulkarni came out to open the batting for LSG while Arshdeep Singh had the ball in hand for PBKS. Inglis started with a bang smashing 4 boundaries off Arshdeep in the first over. But PBKS drew first blood in the next over as Kulkarni fell for a golden duck to Azmatullah Omarzai after a 16-run opening stand for the first wicket. Nicholas Pooran came out to bat next. Pooran struggled in his stay at the crease while Inglis was bereft of the strike. Just 4 runs were added to the score before Pooran fell for 2 off 7 balls dragging one onto the stumps off Marco Jansen.
Ayush Badoni came out to bat next. Badoni then took the attack to the opposition. He counter-attacked the Punjab bowlers and gave LSG some respectability in the power play. The duo played through to the end of power play. LSG were 66/2 in 6 overs of power play. Yuzvendra Chahal came into the attack next post power play. The duo put on 49 runs for the third wicket before Badoni was dismissed for 43 off 18 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Chahal as his swashbuckling innings came to an end. Captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat next.
Inglis then was holding fort at one end while Pant struggled in his stay at the crease. Pant and Inglis played through the middle phase of the game. Inglis was the dominant partner while Pant played second fiddle and complemented him really well. The duo put on 65 runs off 43 balls for the 4th wicket before captain Pant was dismissed for 26 off 22 balls with 3 fours to his name to Chahal yet again. Abdul Samad came out to bat next.
Samad got going straightaway as Inglis tried to remain at the crease and converted his fifty into a significant knock. The duo of Inglis and Samad put on 35 runs for the 5th wicket before the well-set Inglis departed for 72 off 44 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Shashank Singh. Mukul Choudhary came out to bat next to join Samad in the middle. Mukul did not last long as he added 3 runs for the 6th wicket with Samad before he got out for 1 off 3 balls to Marco Jansen. Arjun Tendulkar came out to bat next with 2.1 overs to go in the innings.
Samad provided the finishing kick in the last two overs and added 24 runs unbeaten for the 7th wicket in the last 11 balls as Samad hogged the strike and finished with a flurry of boundaries in the end. Samad ended with an unbeaten 37 off 20 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name while Arjun Tendulkar was unbeaten on 5 off 5 balls as LSG ended with a massive 196/6 in 20 overs. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
For PBKS, it was a decent outing with the ball in hand. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/25 in 4 overs. Marco Jansen finished with 2/33 in 4 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai finished with 1/29 in 3 overs. Shashank Singh finished with 1/29 in 3 overs. Vyshak Vijaykumar finished with 0/26 in 3 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with disastrous figures of 0/52 in 3 overs. This means PBKS needed a stiff but gettable 197 runs to win off 20 overs to keep their playoffs hopes alive for now.
Shreyas Iyer’s magical ton helps PBKS get over the line and keep their hopes alive
Chasing 197 for the win, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh came out to open the batting for PBKS while Mohammed Shami had the ball in hand for LSG. The hosts got off to a perfect start as Arya was dismissed for a golden duck. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next. Connolly got a start while Prabhsimran got off to a steady start. The duo put on 22 for the second wicket before Connolly fell for 18 off 10 balls with 4 fours to his name as he was cleaned up by Shami. Shreyas Iyer the captain came out to bat next.
From here, it was the Prabhsimran Singh-Shreyas Iyer show. Iyer was quickly off the blocks while Prabhsimran looked good out there. Prabhsimran rode his luck as he tried to pull the ball and got a top edge through to the keeper where Pant dropped a tough catch. Prabhsimran now made LSG pay. The way the duo batted did not give any chance to the opposition. Many bowlers were tried but to no avail. Even Shami went for runs in the end.
Prabhsimran changed gears while Shreyas was a class apart. The duo complemented each other really well and never allowed the required rate to go up at all. The captain was leading from the front while Prabhsimran continued his consistent run this season. Both of them took turns to attack the bowling. They aced the power play in which PBKS scored 65/2 in 6 overs. They aced the innings really well and the middle overs went in PBKS’ way. The duo added a match defining and winning 140 runs for the third wicket before Prabhsimran fell for 69 off 39 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Arjun Tendulkar.
Suryansh Shedge came out to bat next. He came and hit a boundary, but Shreyas took over the proceedings. He was a class apart. Soon, Iyer accelerated more and neared his ton. The duo put on an unbeaten 38 runs off 18 balls. Shedge was happy to stay at the other end. Iyer got into the 90s and then hit a maximum off the last ball of the 18th over. Shreyas got to his maiden IPL hundred and hundred overall, with a swashbuckling innings.
Shreyas was unbeaten on 101 off 51 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixes to his name while Shedge was unbeaten on 9 off 7 balls with one four to his name. PBKS finished with 200/3 in 18 overs. 3 extras in the form of wides given by the fielding side.
For the LSG bowlers point of view, it was mixed results for them. Mohammed Shami finished with 2/45 in 4 overs. Arjun Tendulkar finished with 1/36 in overs. Prince Yadav finished with 0/32 in 3 overs. Mohsin Khan finished with 0/48 in 4 overs. Digvesh Singh Rathi finished with 0/39 in 3 overs. So, PBKS beats LSG by 7 wickets with 2 overs to spare. They keep their hopes alive. Shreyas Iyer was the Player of the Match award recipient.
What Lies Ahead
So, PBKS keeps their hopes alive with a magnificent ton from Shreyas Iyer as LSG will now finish at the bottom of the points table. PBKS now has to wait for the results to go their way tomorrow. We have our last two games coming our way tomorrow. First-up it’s the most important game as MI takes on RR in Mumbai. MI are eliminated but they can be party poopers. RR needs a win to qualify for playoffs. The next game is in Kolkata where KKR takes on DC. DC are officially ruled out of the tournament, but can be party poopers.
PBKS, & KKR will be hoping for a MI win. RR win will knock both of them out. Let’s see how things unfold on the final day of league stage of the tournament. One spot up for grabs, 3 teams in it, it’s all to play for in the final day of the league stage.
Also Read:Â LSG vs PBKS: Dodgy PBKS Face Rising LSG In Must Win Encounter