Arya puts on a show
Amid the loud cheer for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Punjab Kings’ young sensation Priyansh Arya stole the spotlight as he smashed the fastest century by an uncapped player in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday. Riding on Arya’s 103 off 42 balls, Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by 18 runs for their first home win of the season. Arya scored a 39-ball ton to help his side record the highest total at this ground with 219/6.
Punjab, though, almost threw it all away with some ordinary fielding. Dropped catches and missed run out chances almost cost Punjab the win. However, the target proved too much for Chennai, who could not overcome the scoreboard pressure.
Coming to bat at No. 5, Dhoni hit two back to back sixes in the 18th over to set off alarm bells for Punjab Kings. He hit another six and a four in the next over to bring down the equation to 28 runs needed from six balls. However, Dhoni fell on the first ball of the final over, caught at short fine leg, ending Chennai’s hopes. Earlier, Devon Conway (69 off 49 balls) and Shivam Dube (42 off 27) set the pace for Chennai. The duo held the crease for an 89-run stand, but once Dube lost his wicket all hopes were passed to Dhoni. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) failed to get going, while Rachin Ravindra (36 off 23) could not convert his start.
Arya on fire
Arya’s record knock started with a lucky escape. He was handed a lifeline by Khaleel Ahmed on the second ball of the innings. The CSK pacer found the leading edge but couldn’t hold on to a difficult return catch. Thereafter, the rookie opener delivered a match winning performance. The 24-year-old, known for hitting six sixes in an over during the Delhi Premier League last year, hit nine sixes and seven fours in his innings.
His fearless approach lifted Punjab Kings to the 200-plus total after the hosts were struggling at 83/5 in eight overs. He shared a crucial 71-run partnership with Shashank Singh, who scored an unbeaten 52 off 36 balls.
After two successive failures, Arya was under pressure but the way he started his innings, hitting Ahmed for a six over point, set the tone for his memorable effort.
He collected three sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin, though one of them should have been a catch at the boundary. He deposited Matheesha Pathirana for three straight sixes before a mis-hit for four towards third man brought up his century.
CSK’s leading wicket taker Noor Ahmed was introduced in the 11th over and Shashank welcomed him into the attack with a massive six over long-on. While Arya stole the show, Shashank played the perfect innings mixing caution with aggression. Marco Jansen also cut loose near the end, hitting an unbeaten 34 off 19 balls.
Brief scores: PBKS: 219/6 (Arya 103, Shashank 52*, Jansen 34*; Ahmed 2/45); CSK: 201/5 (Conway 69, Dube 42; Ferguson 2/40)
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