Cricket

Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings IPL 2025 Highlights: Shreyas Iyer’s 97 Trumps Sai Sudharsan’s 74 As PBKS Beat GT

ebiztoday.news 0

Shreyas Iyer began his stint at Punjab Kings captain with a blistering 42-ball 97 not out as his team humbled Gujarat Titans by 11 runs of their Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Shashank Singh bludgeoned 44 off 16 balls after Iyer’s sensible display with the bat as PBKS posted an imposing 243 for five. In reply, GT were stopped at 232 for five with Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler making a 41-ball 74 and 33-ball 54 respectively.

Iyer struck as many as nine sixes and five fours but he couldn’t get to his maiden IPL hundred, as Shashank took 23 runs off the ultimate over to finish the PBKS innings on a high note.

Shashank hit six fours and two sixes during his sensible cameo.

The GT bowling on the death left rather a lot to be desired as PBKS amassed 135 runs within the last eight overs. GT’s fielding was also not on top of things on the night.

During his sparkling knock, Iyer tackled the short ball, once considered his weakness, with elan.

In pursuit of 244, GT too got off to a flyer with Shubman Gill and Sudharsan putting on 61 runs in slightly below six overs before the house team captain got a vanguard off a Glenn Maxwell delivery to fall for a 14-ball 33.

Jos Buttler joined Sudharsan in the center and the 2 scored runs at a quick clip to maintain GT within the hunt. Nonetheless, having added 84 runs for the second wicket with Buttler, Sudharsan looked to whip an atypical Arshdeep Singh off his pads and while he timed it superbly, the opener didn’t get the specified elevation and was caught within the deep.

With dew coming into the image and Buttler still on the crease, GT knew they remained very much in the sport despite losing Sudharsan, and Sherfane Rutherford’s two sixes and a 4 off Marcus Stoinis acted as stimulus for the house team.

But along with his smart medium pace bowing, impact sub Vijaykumar Vyshak ensured PBKS had their nose ahead by conceding just five runs within the fifteenth over.

Marco Jansen was brought back into the attack with GT requiring 70 runs within the last 30 balls, and the tall South African left-arm pacer gave away only eight runs to compound the batting team’s problems.

Vyshak bowled one other tight over despite conceding three wides, leaving GT to get 57 runs in 18 balls, which they might not achieve.

Earlier, caring little or no for fame, Priyansh Arya (47 off 23) went after the GT bowling from the get go.

Arya, who was bought by PBKS for Rs 3.8 crore on the last IPL auction, clobbered Mohammed Siraj over deep square leg for his first six and followed it up with a 4.

Kagiso Rabada made the primary breakthrough when he had Prabhsimran Singh caught within the deep, paving the best way for brand spanking new PBKS captain Iyer’s entry into the center and he began with a stunning drive on the up for a boundary before flicking the seasoned South African pacer for a six over deep square leg.

Back in strike, the 24-year-old Arya launched into left-arm pacer Arshad Khan and picked up 21 runs within the fifth over with the assistance of three fours and a six on the off side. His best shot of the evening was, nonetheless, a spectacular straight drive past the bowler for a 4.

Arya then drove Rabada for a boundary through extra cover, as PBKS amassed 73 runs for the lack of one wicket in the ability play.

GT skipper introduced spin with Rashid Khan and the magician from Afghanistan straightaway delivered with the wicket of Arya at time when he was growing in confidence. It was a soft dismissal as Arya got a top edge while reaching out for a sharply turning delivery that also kept a bit low.

Up against his compatriot Rashid, Azmatullah Omarzai smashed the star leg-spinner for a first-ball six over the bowler’s head.

Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore grabbed two wickets in two balls, sending back Omarzai and Glenn Maxwell to scale back PBKS to 105/4 within the eleventh over.

Nonetheless, Iyer had other ideas because the India batter reached his fifty in only 27 balls. Iyer first went inside out to loft Sai Kishore for a six over long off after which smoked him for an additional maximum, as 17 runs got here off the over after Marcus Stoinis got himself a boundary.

It was then the turn of Rashid to be on the receiving end of Iyer’s assault as he smashed the leggie for 2 successive sixes, the primary one straight down the bottom and the second over deep wicket.

Siraj was brought back into the attack, and Stoinis and Iyer collected a six each off him. 

(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Topics mentioned in this text


Related Story