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Punjab Kings outgunned Gujarat Titans by 11 runs in a high-scoring IPL 2025 match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, with batters from both sides lighting up the contest.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer led from the front on his debut for Punjab Kings with a scintillating knock, while Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler fought bravely for Gujarat Titans.
Shashank Singh continued his explosive display from last season, and young Priyansh Arya made a memorable IPL debut.
A look at the best knocks:
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer's Punjab Kings captaincy debut was nothing short of spectacular, justifying the intense bidding war that saw Punjab secure him for a hefty sum of Rs 26.75 crore (Rs 267.5 million).
He hammered an unbeaten 97 off just 42 balls, propelling his team to a formidable 243/5 -- Punjab Kings' highest total in the IPL.
His innings, punctuated by nine towering sixes and five boundaries, showcased his explosive batting prowess, though he narrowly missed out on his maiden IPL century by three runs after he faced just one of the last 10 deliveries of the innings.
After Kagiso Rabada's early breakthrough, dismissing Prabhsimran Singh, Iyer strode to the crease and immediately made his presence felt. He began with a stylish straight drive for a four over mid-on and then launched Rabada for a towering six over deep square leg.
After a few quiet overs, Shreyas helped Punjab seize the momentum with a thunderous assault on the Gujarat spinners. He hit spinner R Sai Kishore for back to back sixes in the 13th over and repeated the dose on Rashid Khan in the next over to race to his fifty from 27 balls.
Prasidh Krishna bore the brunt of Shreyas' attack. After hitting the Punjab skipper on his ribcage area, he was taken to the cleaners.
Prasidh's short ball strategy fell flat as Shreyas smashed him for three sixes and a four in the 17th over as he raced into the 90s.
The short ball no longer seems to be Shreyas' big weakness as underlined by his incredible batting numbers in 2025.
'Till the end of 2024, Shreyas Iyer averaged 18.3 at a strike rate of 158 while playing the pull/hook shot against pacers across different formats. In 2025 though, he has averaged 88 while playing these shots at a strike rate of 226,' The CricViz Analyst pointed out on X.
Iyer's unbeaten 97 -- his highest IPL score, mirrored his previous captaincy debut for Delhi Capitals in 2018, where he scored 93. Remarkably, both innings saw him narrowly miss a century on his first outing as captain for different franchises, adding a unique symmetry to his IPL journey.
Shashank Singh
Punjab's decision to retain Shashank Singh prior to the IPL mega auction proved to be a masterstroke.
His decisive 23-run final over underscored his value to the team.
Shashank's blistering cameo, featuring six boundaries and two sixes, significantly boosted Punjab's imposing total.
Shashank went ballistic in the last few overs. He tonked Rashid for a couple of sixes and a four to get 20 runs from the 18th over and then ripped into Mohammed Siraj in the final, smashing five boundaries from the final over.
Shashank and Shreyas' partnership turned the game on its head as the duo put on an unbroken stand of 81 runs from just 28 balls. Courtesy of their rampaging partnership, Punjab smashed 135 runs from the last eight overs at a staggering rate of nearly 17 per over, to power their way to a massive total.
Priyansh Arya
Priyansh Arya, acquired by Punjab for Rs 3.8 crore (Rs 38 million) at the IPL auction, made a bold statement in his debut, displaying a fearless approach against the Gujarat Titans' bowling attack.
The left-hander's aggressive 23-ball 47 gave Punjab a flying start in the Powerplay.
From the outset, Arya exhibited a disregard for reputation, launching a powerful six off Mohammed Siraj over deep square leg, followed by a boundary. He then unleashed a barrage of scoring against Arshad Khan in the fifth over, accumulating 21 runs with three boundaries and a six.
Notably, his straight drive past the bowler stood out as a display of exceptional timing and technique.
Arya continued his assault, driving Kagiso Rabada through extra cover for a boundary, contributing to Punjab's dominant Powerplay score of 73/1.
However, his promising innings was cut short by Rashid Khan. The Gujarat Titans' captain introduced spin, and Rashid promptly delivered, dismissing Arya with a soft dismissal.
Arya mistimed a sweep off a sharply turning delivery that kept low, resulting in a top edge and a crucial breakthrough for Gujarat.
Despite his dismissal, Arya's aggressive batting set the tone for Punjab's huge score.
Sai Sudharsan
Sai Sudharsan, who enjoyed a remarkable IPL last season with 527 runs in 12 games, started off his new campaign in great style with a brilliant fifty.
Playing his fourth season for the Titans, the 23-year-old left-hander has become an integral part of the batting line-up. He started off the new season in grand style with a superb half-century which helped Titans make a strong start in their pursuit of a huge total.
He took time to get going, scoring a sedate 25 from 21 balls in the Powerplay but once he found the range in the middle overs, he dominated the Punjab bowlers.
Sudharsan smashed Yuzvendra Chahal for a six to race to his fifty from 31 balls -- his seventh in the IPL. He blossomed in Jos Buttler's company as he went after Chahal again, hitting him for a six and couple of fours in the 12th over.
But against the run of play, he lost his wicket when his pick up shot off Arshdeep Singh was caught by Shashank Singh at deep square leg.
Sudharsan's sparkling knock of 74 from 41 balls, with six sixes and five fours, helped revive Gujarat Titans' hopes in the huge run chase.
Jos Buttler
Buttler made an immediate impact for his new team Gujarat Titans.
Gujarat Titans had most Buttler their most expensive acquisition, signing him for Rs 15.75 crore (Rs 157.5 million) to steal him away from the Rajasthan Royals, where he had spent the last seven seasons.
Despite being assigned the unfamiliar No. 3 position Buttler adjusted well to his new role for his new team. This was only the second time that Buttler had not opened the innings in his last 49 innings.
Buttler had no time to waste after Titans failed to make most of the Powerplay, managing just 61 runs in the Powerplay when they needed to be around the 80/90-run mark.
He kept the boundaries coming in the middle overs to ensure Titans stayed in touch with the asking rate.
He smashed a quickfire 54 from 33 balls but wasn't unable to close out the match as Punjab's bowlers made a fine comeback in the last few overs.
Sherfane Rutherford
Sherfane Rutherford made most of the opportunity after being drafted in as Gujarat Titans' Impact Player in a crucial juncture in the run chase.
When he strode out to bat in the 13th over, things looked really difficult for Titans, with the asking rate going above 13.
The West Indian got Gujarat's run chase back on track with a blistering counter-attack, smashing Marcus Stoinis for two sixes and a four in the 14th over.
But he came undone against Vijaykumar Vyshak's clinical display of yorkers.
Titans went 20 balls without a boundary before Buttler also perished. However, Rutherford didn't give up the fight and kept the boundaries coming as Gujarat ended up 11 runs short in a high-scoring game.
Rutherford pushed his case for his inclusion in the starting XI with a handy 46 from 28 balls, with four fours and three sixes.
Photographs: BCCI
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