Shreyas Iyer is set to tick off a landmark achievement in the Indian Premier League as he captains Punjab Kings in his 100th match leading the side, when PBKS take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Dharamsala. The game will mark a rare milestone for Iyer and underline his growth into one of the league’s most effective leaders.
Iyer’s captaincy journey has moved across three different franchises—Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings. He has skippered Delhi in 41 IPL matches, while guiding KKR and PBKS for 29 games each, building a body of work that now culminates in this centurion outing as captain.
Heading into this special fixture, Iyer has amassed 56 wins from his captaincy tenure, including two triumphs that came via Super Over. The record also shows 40 defeats, along with three matches that ended without a result. With a win rate of 58.3% in completed matches, he is tied with MS Dhoni for the joint-best captaincy win percentage in IPL history, highlighting how consistently his teams have performed under his leadership.
Over the years, Iyer has earned a reputation as one of the competition’s more successful captains. Notably, he is the only skipper in IPL history to steer three separate franchises to an IPL final. His first major final appearance as captain came when he led Delhi Capitals to the 2020 showpiece against Mumbai Indians. Later, he guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the title-winning run in 2024 versus Sunrisers Hyderabad. Most recently, he carried Punjab Kings to the final last season, where they faced RCB.
Once he steps out for the toss on Thursday, Iyer will become just the fifth captain in IPL history to reach 100 matches as a skipper. He will join an exclusive group that includes MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.
Beyond the leadership numbers, Iyer’s batting has also remained a key part of his IPL profile. Recently, he became only the second captain in league history—after KL Rahul—to surpass 1,000 IPL runs as captain across two different franchises. He achieved the milestone while playing for both Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, adding another personal benchmark to his growing captaincy legacy.
The 100th-match moment arrives at a tense point in Punjab’s campaign. After a run of strong form earlier in the season that included a stretch of unbeaten results, PBKS have slipped into a difficult phase, losing their last five matches in a row. With playoff qualification now under threat, the next steps for the franchise carry added urgency.
Iyer has produced 396 runs in 11 games at an average of 49.50 and a strike rate of 164.31, with five half-centuries. However, the story has been less encouraging in the second half of those five defeats. Apart from a good knock of 59 against Delhi Capitals, his scores have been limited to 4, 5, 19 and 30 in the other matches during that stretch. Across the five consecutive losses, he has managed just 117 runs, averaging 23.40.
As Punjab Kings look to arrest the slide, Iyer’s centurion outing as IPL captain is poised to be more than just a personal milestone—it could also become a turning point in PBKS’ push for the playoffs.
