Captain Shreyas Iyer not only won a thrilling IPL 2026 match for Punjab Kings (PBSK) but also earned a lot of praise for his blistering half-century against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, April 3.
Iyer played a brilliant inning of 50 off exactly 29 balls when Punjab Kings needed someone to chase the target and keep the scoreboard ticking against Chennai Super Kings.
Shreyas Iyer surprised CSK by scoring a stormy half-century.
Chasing a mammoth target of 210 against CSK on their own soil is never easy, but the PBKS skipper made it look easy. Shreyas Iyer continued to rotate the strike and play his strokes when the bowlers lost the line, as Punjab achieved the target against Chennai in just 18.4 overs with five wickets in hand.
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After the match, former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Saba Karim was full of praise for Iyer. He said the Chennai innings was another reminder that Iyer often performs well under pressure but still does not get the credit he deserves both as a player and captain.
Karim felt that the PBKS captain’s understanding of spin, his timing and the way he changes gears makes him very different from other batsmen. He also called Iyer the best spin player in the white-ball format.
He is the number 1 batsman against spin bowling: Saba Karim
Saba Karim said on ESPNcricinfo’s ‘Time Out’ show: “He doesn’t get the credit he deserves as a batsman or a leader. Today was an example where he showed why he is so different from other batsmen we have seen so far. Even in the T20 format he looks so impeccable.” [and] He has plenty of time. I think he is arguably the No. 1 batsman against spin bowling – [I am] Talking about white ball cricket including ODI and T20.”
Over the last two years, Shreyas Iyer has transformed himself into a complete T20 batsman. The numbers clearly show their growth. Since IPL 2024, the Mumbaikar is striking at a strike rate of 169.51, which is a huge jump from his previous strike rate of 130. He scored 351 runs for KKR in 2024, followed by a stellar season with PBKS in 2025, where he finished as their top scorer with 600+ runs.
Karim lauds Shreyas Iyer’s technical transformation
The former Indian selector believes that Iyer has made some technical improvements as he now gets into strong positions even before the ball reaches him. His back and across movement keeps his balance perfect, and his front foot opens easily, giving him room to hit both straight and across the line.
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Karim further explained, “And even against fast bowlers, since he has started working on his square shots towards the on side, I think he has become a much better or more rounded kind of batsman, who is very difficult to stop. He gets into such a strong position before facing the ball. Look at his trigger movement: he steps back, so his body weight shifts from one foot to the other.”
The secret behind Shreyas Iyer’s power hitting!
This technique also helps them handle smaller balls with confidence. Earlier, Iyer was struggling against short balls and even some world-class spinners, due to which he also lost his place in the Indian cricket team, especially the Test team in 2024.
He signed off by saying, “Then the front foot opens up quite easily, and then he goes bang. So, I think that’s an area where he has worked very hard. It also allows him to play short deliveries well. So, he can either go on the front foot or shift his weight a bit, and hit it down the ground or to the square-leg or midwicket boundary.”
