IPL 2025, early days of season, Shreyas Iyer batsman for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) almost reached a Test century only to fall agonisingly short chasing 97* with his team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) battling Gujarat Titans (GT) in a thriller. This is reflective, particularly as a purportedly rude message the Iyer gave to a Shashank Singh in his dressing room prior to Gujarat Titans v Punjab Kings (PBKS) game.The incident happened during the last over of KKR innings. Iyer had once again been instrumental in the innings as he was only a mere 3 runs
away from making a deserved hundred. With wickets falling to the other end though, the KKR batsman was looking to score just a bit quicker.
Sources that have been around the game tell of Iyer briefly but sharply exchanging words with Shashank Singh (who was fielding close to the boundary) not long after he slammed his second six off Agiholm. The exact words of the verbal volley have not been revealed but it’s understood that Iyer basically spelled out exactly what target he wanted from the other end to swing it into place.For this match, the match was playing with Gujarat Titans, who had Shashank Singh (a player of Punjab Kings squad in previous season). The bizarre exchange between two players that played together just a season ago only provided more insomniac fuel to an already interesting on-base performance.
Iyer ended unbeaten on 97* before the frustration of not having a hundred to his name in the end. Controlled aggression was expertly displayed but his support of 26 from the remaining batsmen meant that the landmark would have to wait for yet another day. The incident led to conversations by cricket followers and pundits about the cut throat competition in IPL, and individual performances for a team situation. A batsman will want to keep scoring against the fielding side, but the greater aim is for his team to win. The intensioned raw message to his T20 batter Iyer was nothing but the heat of the format and pressure.
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The Thursday schedule was the usual high drama battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans, both parties giving their best in the early-ish stages of the tournament for some much-needed points. Iyer may not have reached a century, but yhis innings played a big role in ensuring KKR posted an aggressive score;. The other exchange with Shashank Singh though turned into a more memorable and informal moment, as one could see the personal between dynamixes also in the backdrop of high stakes IPL matches.
