Ahmedabad, Mar 25: Skipper Shreyas Iyer wreaked havoc on the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers as his unbeaten knock of 97, coupled with cameos by Priyansh Arya and Shashank Singh, helped the Punjab Kings post a mammoth 243/5 in 20 overs in Match 5 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday.

For the Titans, Sai Kishore was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps to his name.

Iyer continued his impressive form from the Champions Trophy into the new season as he scored at a breathtaking strike rate of 230.95, in an innings which included nine sixes and five boundaries.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat, debutant Arya got off to a flying start in his IPL career, courtesy of a dropped catch by Arshad Khan in the second over, and took the fight to the Gujarat bowlers after the early dismissal of Prabhsimran Singh.

Alongside Iyer, Arya took the bowlers to the cleaners, which included a 21-run fifth over off Arshad’s bowling. However, Gujarat Titans' skipper Shubman Gill relied on his most trusted spinner, Rashid Khan, to deliver, and he provided the important breakthrough. Off Rashid’s fourth delivery in the seventh over, Arya attempted to go big and got a massive top edge. The ball lobbed up and Arshad made no mistake in grabbing the catch the second time around.

The introduction of Kishore seemed to be a turning point for the Titans. After conceding only two runs in his first over, he first struck blood with the dismissal of Azmatullah Omarzai before ruining power-hitter Glenn Maxwell’s Punjab homecoming by catching him LBW on the very next ball.

After deliberating with his skipper at the other end, the all-rounder opted not to take the review, and the replay further showed the ball was missing the stumps. However, Iyer halted Gujarat’s attempts to come back into the game by raising a 57-run partnership with Marcus Stoinis before the latter was dismissed by Kishore.

Iyer and Shashank Singh continued dealing in boundaries and reached the 50-run stand mark in just 17 deliveries, courtesy of the explosive hitting by Iyer off Prasidh Krishna. The captain raised 24 runs in the 17th over by smashing three sixes and one four. Shashank too joined the party, playing a solid cameo from the other end, further indicating the strength and depth of the Kings' lineup this season.

With Iyer struck at 97, Shashank ended up hammering five boundaries in the final over, on his way to scoring an unbeaten 44 off 16 deliveries, with Iyer watching from the non-striker's end and fell three runs shy of his maiden IPL century.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 243/5 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 97*, Priyansh Arya 47, Shashank Singh 44*; Sai Kishore 3-30, Kagiso Rabada 1-41, Rashid Khan 1-48) vs Gujarat Titans

--IANS

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