Shreyas Iyer enters elite IPL captain's club headed by MS Dhoni on 100th match as skipper during PBKS vs RCB clash
Shreyas Iyer became the fifth IPL captain to lead in 100 or more matches in the tournament. Iyer's milestone moment came when he led Punjab Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala.
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer became the fifth captain on Sunday in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to lead in 100 or more matches. Iyer achieved the milestone during Punjab Kings' 12th game in IPL 2026 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Dharamsala.
Iyer started his captaincy journey with Delhi Capitals (the Delhi Daredevils) in midway into IPL 2018 after Gautam Gambhir stepped down following just a single win in the first six matches. Although the franchise finished last in that season, Delhi Capitals bounced back under Iyer's leadership the next year, reaching the playoffs, before losing in Qualifier 2.
Iyer delivered once again in IPL 2020, taking his side to the final, before losing to Mumbai Indians in the summit clash. He returned to captaincy again in 2022, this time leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a seventh-place finish. After missing the 2023 season due to injury, Iyer returned with a bang, leading KKR to their third IPL title.
He led Punjab Kings to final in IPL 2025, losing to RCB in the summit clash. Before Iyer, Rohit Sharma (158), Virat Kohli (143) and Gambhir (129) have led their respective teams in more than 100 matches in IPL.
Notably, Dhoni and Rohit are the only two captains to have won five IPL titles each. Gambhir led KKR to two IPL trophies as captain. Only Kohli didn't win any IPL as captain. Dhoni has led in 235 matches in IPL.
Players to lead in 100 IPL matches
| Player | Matches | Win | Loss | Tie | NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Supergiant) | 235 | 136 | 97 | 0 | 2 |
| Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians) | 158 | 87 | 67 | 4 | 0 |
| Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) | 143 | 66 | 70 | 3 | 4 |
| Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders) | 129 | 71 | 57 | 1 | 0 |
| Shreyas Iyer (Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings) | 100 | 54 | 40 | 2 | 3 |
Shreyas Iyer's reaction to leading in 100th IPL tie
Reacting on leading for the 100th time in IPL, Iyer was unaware of the feat. “I seriously had no clue that this was my 100th game as a captain but it feels great. It feels like a great opportunity for me to win my 100th game (as captain),” Iyer said after winning the toss against RCB.
“We're going to bowl. I'm not going by the stats, we're clearly seeing how the games pan out. If we bat and bowl well, the toss doesn't matter. Two changes for us (Harpreet) Brar and Lockie (Ferguson) come in," he added.
RCB ride on Venkatesh Iyer &Virat Kohli's fifties
Meanwhile, RCB rode on half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer to manage 222/4 in 20 overs. Batting first, Kohli started from where he left in the last game, with a 37-ball 58. Kohli first forged a 76-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (45) for the second wicket, before establishing a 60-run stand for the third wicket with Venkatesh.
After Kohli's dismissal, Venkatesh steered the RCB innings with an unbeaten 73 off 40 balls - his first half-century for the franchise and 13th overall in IPL. Tim David's 12-ball 28 at the end powered RCB past 200-run mark.
Catch the live updates from IPL 2026 with the complete IPL 2026 Schedule and the IPL 2026 Points Table. Also, know who are currently leading the charts in IPL 2026 Orange Cap and IPL 2026 Purple Cap.
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