Shreyas Iyer couldn’t have wished for a better start to his tenure as Punjab Kings skipper, as he smashed an unbeaten 42-ball-97 before a disciplined bowling show by Arshdeep Singh and Vyshak Vijaykumar’s level-headedness guided the team to an 11-run win against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.
On a surface where the ball came onto the bat nicely, Shreyas flexed his muscles and dealt in boundaries as the Kings overcame a middle-order fumble to post 243 for five, their second-highest total in the tournament.
However, the Titans put up a strong fight with Sai Sudharsan’s 41-ball-74 and Jos Buttler’s 33-ball-54 before Vyshak and Arshdeep closed out the game.
AS IT HAPPENED | GT VS PBKS
The Titans, led by Shubman Gill, amassed 61 runs inside the powerplay before Glenn Maxwell dismissed the captain. However, with Sudharsan and Buttler in form, GT was in the hunt. Making the most of some sloppy fielding, they forged an 84-run partnership for the second wicket before Arshdeep removed Sudharsan.
Impact Player Sherfane Rutherford, however, looked fiery as the Titans inched closer and needed 27 in the final over. Arshdeep, however, kept his cool and conceded just 15 runs.
Punjab Kings Priyansh Arya in action during the TATA IPL 2025 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Punjab Kings Priyansh Arya in action during the TATA IPL 2025 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Vyshak, who came on to bowl only in the 15th over, returned impressive figures of 0/28 from his three overs.
Earlier, the Kings cruised to 73 for one in the PowerPlay, with debutant Priyansh Arya dominating the bowlers with a flurry of boundaries. He made the most of a reprieve and set the tone with 21 runs from Arshad Khan’s first over before falling three short of a fifty.
Shreyas played the big shots and deflated the Titans attack along with Shashank Singh. Shreyas missed out on a maiden hundred in the tournament as Shashank faced all the deliveries in the final over bowled by Mohammed Siraj and took him to the cleaners, amassing 23 runs. He remained unbeaten on a 16-ball 44.
As the spectators chanted his name, Shreyas hugged Shashank and walked off with a smile on his face. Shreyas continued his good form from the Champions Trophy as he did not offer any chance to the star-studded bowling line-up, as the Kings plundered 87 runs off the last five overs.
