Follow UsYoung Punjab Kings (PBKS) opener Priyansh Arya put on quite a show in Mullanpur, smoking 103 off just 42 deliveries in Match 22 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 8 (Tuesday). And, PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting went on to say that he hasn’t seen too many better knocks than this in his career.
The left-hander smashed seven fours and nine sixes, operating at a strike rate of close to 250. Despite losing wickets at the other end, Priyansh didn’t slow down and kept going for boundaries almost every single delivery.
"I've been around a lot of games of cricket. I haven’t seen many better knocks than what I saw tonight. You got out first ball last game, and yet the first ball today sails 100 metres over point for six. That says a lot about you and the attitude that we all want to have,” said Ponting on a video posted on ‘X’ by PBKS.
"Regardless of what happened last game, you stuck to your game. You displayed the attitude to put it back on the bowlers. From the first ball, you did that. Unbelievable knock."
Punjab got to 219 despite losing five wickets for 83 runs. Apart from Priyansh, Shashank Singh (36-ball 52*) and Marco Jansen (34* off 19) also played superb knocks. Punjab went on to win the game by 18 runs and are now placed at No.4 on the IPL 2025 points table.
"To Shashank — smart, calculating. You did what the team needed. That’s what I keep asking: ‘What does my team need from me right now?’ You answered that perfectly," said Ponting.
On Jansen, Ponting added, "Marco, very important runs. You even said at the time-out we could get to 220 — and we got 219! We were 80 for 5, backs to the wall, and look what we did. That’s what good teams do."
PBKS have won three of their four games, and their next encounter will be an away match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 12 (Saturday).