India, April 12 -- When Punjab Kings' high-octane clash got going against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, the game seemed rapidly headed only in one direction. Sunrisers openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head were in full flow, tearing into the PBKS attack with a ferocity that left the home crowd in Mullanpur stunned. At 105/0 in the Powerplay, a 250-plus total loomed large, and with it, the game being decided long before the chase began.

It was in this chaos that Shreyas Iyer, calm as ever, found clarity.

Captains are often defined not by the obvious decisions, but by the unexpected ones. Iyer's call to introduce Shashank Singh into the attack was precisely that - unexpected, even audacious. The part-time medium pacer had bowled 71 o...