Punjab Kings started their 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) journey on a high, claiming an 11-run win over Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday in an impressive team effort.
Asked to bat by Gujarat, Punjab put up a huge 243/5 in 20 overs, led by captain Shreyas Iyer's undefeated 97 and contributions from Priyansh Arya and Shashank Singh. As a reply, Gujarat's pursuit of 244 was slow to begin with skipper Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan going through a trying spell of Punjab bowling attack, which was spearheaded by Arshdeep Singh and Azmatullah Omarzai. But when the needed run rate kept increasing, Gill tried to pick up the pace but became a casualty of Glenn Maxwell in the last over of the powerplay. On a night when Maxwell surpassed Dinesh Karthik for the most ducks in IPL history, he managed to make an impact with the ball by inducing Gill’s edge, which was caught at cover point.
Jos Buttler, who made his Gujarat Titans debut after spending seven years with Rajasthan Royals, came in next and played a strong hand while letting the well-set Sudharsan take on the bowlers. After scoring his seventh IPL half-century off 31 balls, Sudharsan upped the gears and went on to score 74, striking five boundaries and six sixes. His innings, though, was terminated by Arshdeep, providing Punjab with a crucial breakthrough.
To raise the stakes, Gujarat brought on their Impact Player, Sherfane Rutherford, who exploded to the fore with two sixes and a four off Marcus Stoinis. Punjab's death bowling, however, turned out to be the difference as they only allowed 12 runs in the following two overs, leaving Gujarat 70 runs short on the remaining 30 balls. Buttler, having achieved his 20th IPL half-century, was caught by Marco Jansen, taking Rahul Tewatia out to face a formidable task.
With too much to be accomplished in too short a time, Gujarat's prospects disappeared rapidly. Tewatia got out first ball after walking down the track, as Rutherford's straight drive hit the stumps. Arshdeep then cleaned up Rutherford, ending Punjab's victory in style.
Early in the innings, Punjab's newbie Priyansh Arya blazed away a start to his IPL after surviving a mis-field by Arshad Khan on the second ball of an over. Acing the opportunity courtesy the drop, Arya pounded Gujarat's bowling after losing initial wicket-taking Prabhsimran Singh early on. He and Iyer punted the opposite camp into distressing pressure, notably in 21-run off-spinner Arshad's fifth. But Gujarat discovered a much-needed breakthrough through Rashid Khan, who was introduced by Gill at a turning point. Off just his fourth ball in the seventh over, Rashid bamboozled Arya, getting a top edge that was caught safely by Arshad on his second try.
The arrival of Sai Kishore turned the tide in Gujarat's favor briefly. After a clean first over, he struck twice in rapid succession—first bowling out Omarzai and then getting Maxwell trapped LBW on the very next ball. Maxwell did not opt for a review, but replays later indicated that the ball would have gone past the stumps.
In spite of these losses, Iyer consolidated the innings along with Marcus Stoinis, scoring 57 runs before the latter was dismissed by Kishore. Iyer then partnered Shashank Singh in a scorching 71-run stand off only 28 deliveries, with boundaries coming in profusion.
While Iyer was stuck on 97, Shashank dominated the last over, hitting five boundaries to remain unbeaten on 44 off only 16 balls. Punjab's strong total left Iyer short of his first IPL century by a hair's breadth, sitting in the non-striker's end.
Brief Scores:
Punjab Kings: 243/5 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 97*, Priyansh Arya 47; Sai Kishore 3-30, Kagiso Rabada 1-41, Rashid Khan 1-48)
Gujarat Titans: 232/5 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 74, Jos Buttler 54, Sherfane Rutherford 46; Arshdeep Singh 2-36, Marco Jansen 2-44)
Punjab Kings won by 11 runs.
Read also| The whole year I focussed and visualised about finishing games, Says Ashutosh Sharma
Read also| Lucknow Super Giants Appoint Shardul Thakur as Replacement for Injured Mohsin Khan
