Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer showered praise on the team’s opener Priyansh Arya after the youngster scored a splendid knock of 103 runs off just 42 balls against Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL 2025 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Tuesday.

The left-hander completed his hundred off just 39 balls, which is the fastest in the IPL by any player against CSK. The southpaw was able to hit the ground running and kept backing his aggressive shots despite the fact that the home team kept losing wickets at regular intervals on the other end.

Arya, who was dismissed for a golden duck against Rajasthan Royals, also had the rub of the green as Mukesh Choudhary misjudged a catch close to the boundary when he was on 73.

Courtesy of Arya’s blistering knock, PBKS was able to post a par score of 219 runs on the board.

Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation, “This is going to be the template irrespective of any ground we play at. Strong hitters we have and the way Priyansh played was scintillating to watch. It was out of the world type of innings. When I had a chat with him in the last game, he was a bit timid in his decision-making when he faced Jofra. Today he backed his instincts, he was free-flowing, that’s the mindset I want everyone to have in this team. Basically was one of the top knocks I have seen in the IPL.”

On his bowling strategy of backing pacers against Shivam Dube, Iyer said, “That was a tactical call, because Dube had already played a few deliveries and Conway. With Yuzi coming in we know how destructive he can be, but I felt that the instinct was to go with the seamers. Basically, we wanted pace against Dube, we delayed a bit in that but eventually, it worked out.”

Punjab Kings will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Saturday.