Tue Mar 25 17:10:00 UTC 2025: ## Iyer Misses Century in Captaincy Debut, But Blasts 97 for Punjab Kings
**Mohali, [Date]** – Shreyas Iyer narrowly missed a century in his captaincy debut for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), smashing a breathtaking 97* off 42 balls against [Opposing Team]. While he ultimately fell short of the milestone, his innings was a whirlwind of power hitting, featuring five fours and nine sixes for a strike rate of 230.95.
Iyer’s onslaught began in the fourth over, immediately showcasing his intent with a boundary and a six off Kagiso Rabada. Despite the wickets of Priyam Garh and Glenn Maxwell, Iyer continued his aggressive batting, hitting two sixes in the 13th over and another six off Rashid Khan to reach his fifty. He even cleared the ropes again in the 17th over despite a short-lived injury scare, where he was struck on the ribs.
However, Iyer’s pursuit of a century was thwarted in the final overs. While he reached 97 with a single in the 19th over, he was denied further strike by teammate Shashank Singh, who smashed 23 runs in the final over. Singh later clarified that Iyer himself had instructed him to focus on scoring runs rather than trying to get Iyer to the century mark.
Despite missing the milestone, Iyer’s knock was his highest individual score in IPL, surpassing his previous best of 96. His performance is especially noteworthy considering that he is only the second highest run-scorer in an IPL captaincy debut, only behind Sanju Samson’s 119. This is Iyer’s second impressive captaincy debut performance, having scored 93* in his debut for Delhi Capitals in 2018. The Punjab Kings ultimately posted a formidable total of 243 runs thanks to Iyer’s explosive batting and Singh’s late-innings flurry.
First Piper 