Priyansh Arya, who played his fourth Indian Premier League game in his first ever season of the biggest cricket league in the world, silenced the crowd with his fearless and explosive batting.
The 24-year-old athlete from Delhi is a part of the Punjab Kings franchise and scored a fabulous 39-ball century against the Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.
In his debut IPL match, Arya made a quickfire 47 against the Gujarat Titans; and was just unstoppable against the five-time champions CSK yesterday. When the entire batting order kept crumbling for Punjab, with wickets falling at regular intervals, Priyansh remained unfazed and shouldered the responsibility to add runs for his team.
The southpaw smashed nine sixes and seven fours in total and completed his century in style. He became the second fastest Indian to score a century in just 39 balls, only behind Yusuf Pathan, who did it in 37 balls in one of the matches during his IPL stint.
Priyansh was eventually dismissed by Noor Ahmad for 103 runs but got a standing ovation from everyone as he walked back to the team dugout. Though he was out for a golden duck against the Rajasthan Royals in the last match that Punjab played, he made an incredible comeback to score a hundred against the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings.
The dynamic player showed that he belongs to a category of brave cricketers who have made it big on their own merit. He produced a knock which was unbelievable and robust as he seamlessly flew to score 103 runs off just 42 balls.
A change in the mindset, strong composure and free-flowing batting style was clearly seen on Arya’s face, which led to this young star creating history for himself and his team.
Just three days ago, on the same ground, he had faced an absolute gem from Jofra Archer, whose delivery clean swept the stumps and caught him off guard by that unplayable delivery. And last evening, Priyansh entered an elite list of batters – alongside Naman Ojha, Virat Kohli, and Phil Salt – to have hit a six on the very first ball of an IPL match.
There was no stopping him, as he became only the eighth uncapped batter in IPL history to score a century. After his dream knock, the young star earned the Player of the Match award, ensured that his team secured an 18-run victory and regain their position in the Top 4 of the Points Table.
He has been one of the key reasons behind Punjab’s impressive form in this edition of IPL 2025. In a total of four matches, he has scored 158 runs with a stunning strike rate of over 210.
If continues to show this form and play with consistency, then there is surely no stopping the Kings from entering the playoffs. They will next face the rusty Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, April 12.
By: Tulika Agarwal
