Arya's blazing 103 off 42 balls consigns CSK to fourth successive defeat

Priyansh Arya announced his arrival in the IPL with a 39-ball century, the fastest by an uncapped Indian and joint-fourth-fastest by anyone, as Punjab Kings (PBKS) consigned Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their fourth successive defeat in IPL 2025.

CSK didn't help themselves in the field, dropping as many as five catches, including two offered by Arya. The 24-year-old rookie capitalised on those chances to charge to his hundred as early as the 13th over. He holed out for 103 off 42 balls in the next over, but Shashank Singh (52*) and Marco Jansen (34*) provided the finishing kick for PBKS.

CSK started well in the powerplay in their pursuit of 220 - Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra added 59 in the first six overs - but their soft underbelly was exposed once again in a chase. Conway retired out on 69 off 49 balls, with CSK needing 49 off 13 balls, but MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja couldn't get the job done.

CSK have now failed to chase a 180-plus target in their last 11 attempts, dating back to 2020.

Arya had triggered a bidding war at the auction after cracking six sixes in an over in the inaugural Delhi Premier League. In the lead-up to IPL 2025, his coach Ricky Ponting had talked him up as a "special" player. On Tuesday, Arya backed up Ponting's comments in only his fourth IPL innings.

Arya is a bit like a left-handed version of the original Delhi basher Virender Sehwag. He sees the ball and hits the ball. He has also the gift of timing. When Matheesha Pathirana marginally missed a wide yorker and bowled a full toss - it was still a hard-to-hit full toss - Arya opened his bat face and carved it over point for six. He dispatched the next three balls from Pathirana for 6, 6, 4 to surge to a 39-ball hundred in the 13th over. In the next over, left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad had Arya dragging a catch to long-on.

While Arya finished with 103 off 42 balls, the rest of the top six had a combined 23 off 25 balls in a bizarre scorecard. Arya could have been dismissed in the very first over had Khaleel Ahmed held on to a fairly straightforward return catch. Arya was on 6 at that point, having scythed the first ball over the point boundary. He then got another life on 35 when Vijay Shankar fluffed a more difficult chance at midwicket. Arya raced to his half-century, off 19 balls, when he backed away and carted R Ashwin over mid-off in the last over of the powerplay.

In all, Arya took Ashwin for 28 off ten balls. The spinner came away with 4-0-48-2, his third-most expensive spell in the IPL.

Despite Arya's departure, PBKS kept attacking. Shashank forged an unbroken 65-run partnership off 38 balls for the seventh wicket with Jansen to push them to an above-par total. Shashank welcomed Noor into the attack with a slog-swept six over wide long-on, and pumped a carrom ball from Ashwin over his head for six more. Jansen had his own fun when he launched a no-look six off Pathirana in the 18th over.

CSK started positively in the chase, with the New Zealand pair of Conway and Ravindra scoring ten fours in the powerplay. However, they had to wait until the tenth over for their first six, when Shivam Dube swatted Lockie Ferguson over the midwicket boundary.

Glenn Maxwell had broken the opening stand when he had Ravindra stumped for 36 off 23 balls. In the next over, Ferguson banged the ball on a hard length at 143kph and had Ruturaj Gaikwad chipping a catch to midwicket for 1 off three balls.

CSK responded by pushing their designated spin-hitter Dube up to No. 4, but PBKS countered his promotion by not throwing spin at him. They held Yuzvendra Chahal, their premier spinner, back until Dube's dismissal at the end of the 16th over. Once Dhoni arrived in the 17th over, PBKS matched Chahal up with him and raised the asking rate to almost 20. Chahal ended up bowling just one over for nine runs.

Conway retired out in the 18th over, and Dhoni hit three sixes, but CSK were left with too much to do at the end. When Dhoni flapped a full toss from Yash Thakur, the Impact Player, to short fine leg, at the start of the final over, PBKS all but sealed victory.