Shreyas Iyer’s Explosive 97* in Punjab Kings Debut Falls Short of a Century
The IPL 2025 season kicked off with a bang as Shreyas Iyer, the latest star acquisition of Punjab Kings for a staggering ₹26.75 crore, delivered a blistering innings in his debut as captain. However, despite his fireworks, he narrowly missed out on a century, remaining unbeaten on 97 off just 42 balls.
Coming in at No. 3 after the fall of Prabhsimran Singh in the fourth over, Shreyas wasted no time making his presence felt. He started with a boundary off Kagiso Rabada and followed it up with a six on the fourth ball. Later, he smashed two sixes in three balls against Sai Kishore and brought up his half-century in style by hitting consecutive sixes off Rashid Khan in 28 balls.
The real carnage, however, came in the 17th over when he took on Prasidh Krishna. Shreyas hammered three sixes and a four in four consecutive balls, racing into the 90s. By the end of that over, he was sitting at 90. Yet, despite having 18 balls left in the innings, he faced only four of them.
In the final over, as Punjab surged past 240, Shreyas didn’t get the strike even once. Teammate Shashank Singh took the spotlight in the last over, hitting five boundaries off Mohammed Siraj to add 23 runs. Shashank finished with an unbeaten 44 off 16 balls, leaving Shreyas stranded on 97.
Despite missing the century, Shreyas made history. His 97* is now the third-highest score by a captain on IPL debut, trailing only Sanju Samson’s 119 for Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and Mayank Agarwal’s 99* for Punjab the same year. It is also Shreyas’ highest score in the IPL, surpassing his previous best of 96 off 57 balls against Gujarat Lions in 2017.
Punjab’s batting was a collective show of power. In addition to Shreyas’ brilliance, opener Priyansh Arya impressed with 47 off 23 balls, hitting 7 fours and 2 sixes. The young batsman, known for smashing six sixes in an over in the Delhi Premier League, justified his ₹3.80 crore price tag.
Punjab Kings ended with 243/5, their second-highest total in IPL history, just behind their record 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders last season.
Although Shreyas might have a slight regret about missing the century, he couldn’t have asked for a better start as Punjab’s captain. The team’s dominant batting performance and a massive total to defend were enough to keep the Indian star smiling.
The IPL auction’s second-most expensive player after Rishabh Pant (₹27 crore) proved why he is worth every penny. At 30, Shreyas Iyer continues to show that his bat speaks louder than any price tag.
