Skipper Shreyas sizzles for starters!

Punjab Kings captain Iyer hammers unbeaten 42-ball 97 (5x4, 9x6) as visitors kick off IPL campaign with 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad

Skipper Shreyas Iyer began his stint at Punjab Kings (PBKS) with a scintillating 42-ball unbeaten 97 to power his team to an imposing 243 for five against Gujarat Titans (GT) in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.

Shreyas struck as many as nine sixes and five fours but he could not get to his maiden IPL hundred, as Shashank Singh (44 off 16 balls) took 23 runs off the final over to end the PBKS innings on a high note. Shashank hit six fours and two sixes during his brilliant cameo.

In reply, the GT batters did well before falling short in the end. Opener Sai Sudarshan hammered a 41-ball 74 (5x4, 6x6) and Jos Buttler scored a 33-ball 54 (4x4, 2x6), but the hosts could only manage 232-5 off their 20 overs, leading to a 11-run victory for PBKS. 

Also Read: DC skipper Axar was calm, fantastic: Starc

GT spinner Sai Kishore during his 3-30 yesterday. Pic/AFP

Earlier, caring very little for reputation, Priyansh Arya (47 off 23) went after the GT bowling from the get go.

Arya, who was bought by PBKS for R3.8 crore at the last IPL auction, clobbered Mohammed Siraj over deep square leg for his first six and followed it up with a four.

Kagiso Rabada made the first breakthrough when he had Prabhsimran Singh caught in the deep, paving the way for new PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer’s entry into the middle and he started with a lovely 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 collected 21 runs in the fifth over with the help of three fours and a six on the off side. His best shot of the evening was, however, a spectacular straight drive past the bowler for a four.

Arya then drove Rabada for a boundary through extra cover, as PBKS amassed 73 runs for the loss of one wicket in the power 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 reduce PBKS to 105/4 in the 11th over. However, Shreyas had other ideas as the India batter reached his fifty in just 27 balls. Shreyas first went inside out to loft Sai Kishore for a six over long off and then smoked him for another maximum, as 17 runs came off the over after Marcus Stoinis got himself a boundary.

Brief scores
PBKS 243-5 in 20 overs (S Iyer  97, P Arya 47, S Singh 44; S Kishore 3-30) beat GG 232-5 in 20 overs (S Sudarshan 74, J Buttler 54, S Rutherford 46) 
by 11 runs

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!