Priyansh Arya carved seven fours and nine sixes on his way to a brilliant maiden Tata Indian Premier League century to help the Punjab Kings cruise to an 18-run win over the Chennai Super Kings at the Mullanpur on Tuesday night.
Shreyas Iyer called correctly at the toss and decided to bat first.
The Punjab Kings suffered a collapse on one end but had a belligerent Arya at the other and he catapulted them to 219-6.
CSK benefited from several dropped catches by Punjab Kings fielders but only managed 201-5 in their chase.
Back to winning ways this season ✅
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2025
First home win this season ✅@PunjabKingsIPL compile a comprehensive 1⃣8⃣-run victory over #CSK ❤️
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/HzhV1VtSRq #TATAIPL | #PBKSvCSK pic.twitter.com/HtcXw4UYAK
Mullanpur hasn't been a high-scoring venue, and the Punjab Kings came into this match with a poor record at the venue.
They had managed just one win in six matches there in two seasons.
Arya gave the home crowd plenty of reasons to cheer with his fireworks-filled knock.
He hammered seven fours and nine sixes for his 103 off 42 deliveries.
"I am not very expressive, but I am feeling very good. After the last match, he (Shreyas) told me to back my strength and play the way I want. I was thinking that if I got the ball in my slot, I would hit it for six," Arya shared after his innings.
I.C.Y.M.I
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𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿💪. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻👌. 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲💥.
Priyansh Arya graced the home crowd with his effortless fireworks 🎆
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Arya banished memories from his outing against the Rajasthan Royals.
Jofra Archer cleaned him up for a first-ball duck in that encounter.
AWESOME ARYA
This time around, Arya showed no jitters as he slashed the first delivery he faced for a six over point.
The 24-year-old was in great nick and 18 balls later, he creamed a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery over the long-off boundary for a maximum to reach 50 runs off 19 balls.
The left-hander wasn't done yet. He kept the CSK bowling attack under so much pressure that they made unforced errors in their attempts to rein in his fluent run-scoring.
The opener reached the 50-run mark in 19 balls. Priyansh needed another 20 deliveries to register his maiden IPL century in 39 balls.
Fastest hundred by an uncapped player 🌟
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Second-fastest hundred by an Indian player 🔥
Joint-fourth fastest hundred of all time 🔝
Priyansh Arya wrote his name into the history books tonight ✍ 📚#TATAIPL | #PBKSvCSK | @PunjabKingsIPL pic.twitter.com/eHPmkP75Ol
In a fitting touch, the left-hander perished while trying to clear the long-on boundary.
“When I went to bat, we were five down. My role was to play with low risks and maximum rewards. Priyansh, the way he was batting, I knew we would get close. 200 was a par score on this surface. He (Arya) does it for his state side. Very bright prospect for the franchise and for the country as well,” Shashank Singh, who shared a 71-run sixth-wicket partnership with Arya, explained.
A Star is Born ✨
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Priyansh Arya wins the Player of the Match award for his magnificent 1⃣0⃣3⃣🙌
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/HzhV1VtSRq #TATAIPL | #PBKSvCSK | @PunjabKingsIPL pic.twitter.com/kNBABp6O79
Shashank Singh and Marco Jansen did not go as fast as Arya, however, they did enough to catapult the Punjab Kings beyond 200.
Shashank registered his third IPL half-century during his 65-run seventh-wicket partnership with Jansen.
Shashank finished his innings unbeaten on 52 off 36 balls and Jansen was not out on 34 from 19.
CSK STRUGGLE TO CLEAR THE ROPES
CSK did not have as blistering a start as the Punjab Kings.
Unlike the hosts, who lost three wickets in the first six overs, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra built steadily and saw the visitors through the powerplay with all wickets intact.
CSK were on 59-0 after six compared to the Punjab Kings' 75-4.
CSK kept themselves in the contest by hitting just enough boundaries to keep the required run rate from ballooning.
However, while they found the boundary with fours, they didn't get enough sixes.
The Punjab Kings struck 16 maximums compared to CSK's eight.
Devon Conway struggled to clear the ropes, however, his 49-ball 69 did just enough to keep the visitors in the contest.
He shared an 89-run third-wicket partnership with Shivam Dube. The New Zealander retired out at the death but MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Vijay Shankar couldn't scrap together the required runs to secure victory.
Sights we have come to cherish over many years 💛
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2025
MS Dhoni produced a fighting knock of 27(12) 🔥
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Lockie Ferguson was the most successful bowler for the Punjab Kings.
He took two wickets for 40 runs in four overs.
His first wicket, Ruturaj Gaikwad's dismissal, was his 50th IPL scalp.
Yash Thakur and Glenn Maxwell took a wicket each.
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson.
Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed.