In a format where 200-plus scores are no longer safe and panic can spread in a couple of quiet overs, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has turned run chases into craft. While some rely on brute force, Iyer has developed a method around timing and calculated acceleration.

Since the beginning of IPL 2023, the right-hander has emerged as one of IPL’s most dependable batsmen in chases, with 703 runs in 17 innings at an average of 100.43, a strike rate of 175.31 and eight fifties.

What makes these numbers even more significant is that they have not come through passive accumulation.…