Shreyas Iyer had a tough day on the field during the CSK vs PBKS clash on Wednesday. Needing a win to further boost their playoff credentials, the Punjab Kings seemingly got a few calls wrong against the struggling hosts. Shreyas will hope that his decisions do not cost his side, with PBKS chasing 191 to win at the Chepauk.
Shreyas Iyer’s poor captaincy helps CSK recover
CSK were 48/3 inside the powerplay, before Dewald Brevis and Sam Curran stitched a fine recovery. The hosts eventually managed to put 190 on the board, with a little help from MS Dhoni later in the innings. However, PBKs would be disappointed to have let the game slip with Shreyas Iyer’s leadership, particularly under the scanner. Here we look at 3 decisions that were rather questionable by Shreyas during the CSK vs PBKS clash.
- Harpreet Brar vs CSK left-handers
Harpreet Brar was likely to play a key role in the CSK vs PBKS clash, with Chepauk being a spin haven. However, the left-arm spinner just bowled two overs on Wednesday. Interestingly, Shreyas got him on against left-handed batsmen, a negative match-up. Ravindra Jadeja instantly pounced on him, picking up a hat-trick of boundaries in the 6th over. While Brar did get the CSK all-rounder out, the damage was already done. Later, the PBKS all-rounde bowled 4 off his 6 deliveries to Curran, who picked up a maximum to continue CSK’s middle overs recovery.
- Use of Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal has been largely underused in IPL 2025 by Shreyas Iyer. A match winner of his own right, the leggie bowled just 2 overs in the middle overs, conceding 23 without a wicket. He persisted with Azmatullah Omarzai, who finished his spell with figures of 1/39 in his four overs. Chahal eventually did turn the game on its head, with 4 wickets in the 19th over, including a hat-trick. It could have been a different story has Shreyas had trusted the veteran to turn the game in the middle overs.
- Persistance with Suryansh Shedge
Shreyas Iyer was without Glenn Maxwell and turned to Suryansh Shedge for the CSK vs PBKS clash. The visitors got off to a flyer getting rid of both CSK openers early in the powerplay. Shedge bowled two overs for 14 in the second half of the innings. However, with Curran and Co waiting to accelerate, the Mumbai all-rounder naturally became the easy target. Shedge was taken for 26 in his third over to give CSK the much-needed momentum. On a day when both Brar and Chahal did finish their quotas, that extra over to Shedge changed the complexion of the game.
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