Punjab Kings (PBKS) batsman Shreyas Iyer scored a brilliant century in Mumbai’s final Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Puducherry in Ahmedabad. He has been in sensational form this tournament and extended his good run when his team desperately needed it.

Iyer scored 137 runs in 133 balls, including 16 boundaries and four maximums, at a strike rate of 103.01. 64.23% of his runs came through fours and sixes, with Iyer hitting a boundary every 6.65 deliveries.

When he came to bat, Mumbai were reeling at 36/3, which soon became 82/5, but the captain kept one end strong and also played decent pace to keep the scoreboard moving. 47.24% of Mumbai’s runs came from Iyer’s willow, which shows how crucial his innings was.

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Only two other batsmen crossed the 20-run mark, and Iyer did the heavy lifting with the willow, scoring his second ton of the season. He remained unbeaten throughout the innings and played his shots all over the field to take Mumbai to a fighting total in the first innings after initial problems.

Mumbai scored 290/9 thanks to Shreyas Iyer’s century

After winning the toss, Mumbai elected to bat first, but their batsmen did not start well. They lost both openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi (0) and Ayush Mhatre (1) within four overs before Hardik Tamore (11) also got out in the eighth over.

Siddhesh Lad (34) opened the scoring but couldn’t convert it into a big goal, while Suryakumar Yadav (0) again came out cheaply. Shreyas Iyer formed a crucial partnership with Atharva Ankolekar (43) for 86 runs to provide some stability to Mumbai’s innings.

However, the wickets started falling again and Iyer had to shoulder the responsibility alone. It ensured a good finish for Mumbai and took them to 290/9, which is a good score given that Mumbai has a strong bowling unit.

Puducherry have lost a wicket during the chase and will need to bat exceptionally well to chase this target. Meanwhile, Iyer reminded the selectors of his abilities in this format and will surely be in the mix for the upcoming ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy.

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