Live - Iyer's IPL best leads Punjab to a winning start

New (or returning) players have hogged the limelight this first week of IPL 2025 and it was no different in Ahmedabad where last season's title-winning captain announced himself in grand style. Shreyas Iyer led Punjab Kings' batting line-up to their second-highest total in IPL history, and then more importantly, to victory.

Iyer had a century for the taking. He was 97 off 42 when the final over against Gujarat Titans began but he did not face a single ball of it, having told his partner Shashank Singh not to worry about the landmark. He had spoken prior to the start of the season that he wanted to bat at No. 3 and he showed against GT the extent of damage he can do. His career-best IPL score included nine sixes. Only once in this tournament has he cleared the boundary more often, and that was a conscious decision.

Iyer knew they needed a big score at a ground where chasing teams had won five out of the last six IPL games. Dew plays a big part in that discrepancy and there was plenty of it on Tuesday evening. Keeping all that in mind, Iyer took every opportunity he was given to swing free. He struck his fourth ball for six, off Kagiso Rabada. He pulverised Sai Kishore for two more, in the over after the left-arm spinner had picked up two wickets in two balls. He even took down Rashid Khan, contributing two of the five sixes the legspinner had to contend with in his final analysis of 4-0-48-1. Iyer was so switched on to run-scoring opportunities that he spotted a wide from the non-strikers' end in the 15th over. When he came on strike for the extra ball, he hit that for six too.

Priyansh Arya got bit ups from his coach Ricky Ponting in the pre-season and it does seem like he has the goods. The 24-year-old, left-hand opening batter was responsible for eight of his team's 12 boundaries in the powerplay and considering he was facing Mohammed Siraj and Rabada, that's a big tick. Shashank was the other big performer for Punjab on the batting front. He came in with the death overs looming, so he knew he couldn't take any time to settle. He got to face 16 balls and sent half of them to the boundary, his best work in the final over when he took Siraj down for 23 runs.

Sudharsan made a hundred the last time he batted here in the IPL, against CSK, whom he flayed all around the park in the final those two teams played as well. He's got the big match temp down. He hasn't been shown up by any kind of bowling just yet. T20 might actually not be his best format. It requires him to push a little harder than his game allows right now. Imagine him in Test whites though, where he has all the time in the world to construct an innings. It can't be all that long before India throw him in. There's an England tour coming up and he's played first-class cricket there the past two seasons. In this game, he made 74 off 41 as Titans ransacked 87 runs in the six overs between the ninth and the 14th. Titans were ahead of Punjab by 30 runs at this stage of the game (169 vs 139). Jos Buttler, at No. 3 for his new team, helped himself to a fifty as well.

Vijaykumar Vyshak had only just been subbed on before he was given the ball for the 15th over. He ran in with just one thing in mind. Hitting the blockhole, which wasn't all that easy given the dew that was around. A few of his deliveries became wide full tosses but he didn't care. For two overs, he pitched every single ball, including the extras, at a full length. There was nothing even on a good length. Thanks to that combination of clarity and execution, he only gave away 10 runs and sucked all the momentum out of the Titans. Where Punjab made 77 runs in their last four overs, Titans could only cobble 44.

Receives a HUUUGE ovation from his dug-out, Ricky Ponting among them clapping the hardest, as he walks back to his fielding position.

He went yorker over and over. The dew made the ball slip out of his hands a few times. Hence the wides, many of which were also full tosses. Rutherford wasn't able to hit any of them.

You'll notice from the graphic above that every one of Vyshak's deliveries have been full length. Nothing even on the good length.

Punjab's Impact Player, and death-overs specialist, Vijaykumar Vyshak only came on the field in the last over and immediately he's had an impact. He went yorker virtually every ball and a couple ended up full tosses, which tells you how much the dew is messing with the bowlers. But even so, the over only goes for five runs. The last ball was a perfectly executed wide yorker and it surprised Buttler. He was expecting something closer to his body and he barely put bat to ball. Incredible stuff.

Marco Janson follows it up with another over full of attempted yorkers and enough of them land right.

One of those sixes from Sherfane Rutherford, the Impact sub, that hit the second tier stands and had Shubman Gill squealing like a kid

He was cramping up earlier in the innings. He was dropped on 30 and 58. This time, on 74, he is taken on the square leg boundary. Timed the flick pretty well but Shashank Singh is up to the task of chasing the ball down and taking it cleanly. Arshdeep Singh's return to the attack a little earlier than PBKS would have wanted works. Shreyas Iyer would ideally have preferred keeping the two overs the left-arm quick had for the death. But he pulled the trigger and it's come good.

Buttler's presence is keeping the game alive though, to the extent that at the end of that wicket-taking over, GT's chances of victory according to ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster, went up by 2.07%

After 10 overs, they were identical. 104 for each.

Sai Sudharsan has once again made all the right moves in the IPL. He made a hundred the last time he batted here in the IPL, against the big boys from CSK, whom he flayed all around the park in the final those two teams played as well. He's got the big match temp down. He hasn't been shown up by any kind of bowling just yet. T20 might actually not be his best format. It requires him to push a little harder than his game allows right now. Imagine him in Test whites though, where he has all the time in the world to construct an innings. It can't be all that long before India throw him in. There's an England tour coming up and he's played first-class cricket there the past two seasons.

Pinch of salt though: Sudharsan was dropped on 30. And he's dropped again on 58.

Titans have asked the more experienced Jos Buttler to play down the order to accommodate Sudharsan at the top because he could benefit from the field restrictions. But the perils of batting outside of them is apparent as well. Even someone with as many shot options as Buttler is finding it hard to get into his innings when he has to face pace off with the fielders back on the boundary. He's 18 off 16 with just two fours. You wonder if GT might rethink this down the line.

Little cat and mouse game between best friends. Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal were best bros at Rajasthan Royals. Here they're up against each other and round one goes to the bowler even though Buttler tried to throw him off with a reverse sweep. Didn't work.

Bowling in the powerplay. That's a lot of responsibility for a guy who is known a little more for what he does when there's 22 yards between him and a cricket ball. But as he has always done, Glenn Maxwell confounds everywhere he goes. It is possible he was brought on for the match-up against the left-hand better. Instead, he takes out the right-hand batter and possibly the man PBKS wanted more. Gill gone for 33. Jos Buttler in at No. 3

Punjab powerplay: 73 for 1, 13 dots, 3 singles, 9 fours, 3 sixes

Titans powerplay: 61 for 1, 14 dots, 8 singles, 3 fours, 5 sixes

There is may be an inferece in those stats based on the difference in the number of singles and the number of boundaries. Punjab were willing to take more risks, potentially because they were batting first and they knew batting second would be easier with the dew. Titans only went for the balls they knew they could smash because they know wickets in hand is vital for this chase.

He was 21 by the time he faced 10 balls. Only three of his other starts have been quicker in IPL cricket

Shreyas Iyer had a century for the taking. He was 97 off 42 when it began but he did not face a single ball of it, having told his partner don't worry about my hundred. He had spoken prior to the start of the season that he wanted to bat at No. 3 and he showed against Gujarat Titans the extent of damage he can do. He smashed nine sixes, his second most in an IPL innings.

Punjab Kings had other contributors as well. Their debutant opener Priyansh Arya looked in sync with the quality of cricket at the IPL, scoring 43 off 27 balls. He was responsible for eight of the 12 boundaries his team scored in the powerplay. Spin helped stall Punjab's progress, Rashid Khan picking up a wicket in his first over. R Sai Kishore was on a hat-trick during the course of his spell. He finished with 3 for 30 with a little help from Glenn Maxwell who began his third stint with Punjab with a first-ball duck. It needn't have been that way. Had he reviewed the lbw decision, he would've survived. Sai Kishore's delivery was projected to miss the stumps.

Ahmedabad is a chase-friendly ground. Five of the last six IPL games have been won by the team batting second and that was a big reason for Shubman Gill choosing to bowl first. Iyer, though, might have nullified that advantage with an innings so full of intent. He really didn't bother trying to keep the ball on the ground. He hit the fourth ball he faced for six. He hit two off Sai Kishore in the over after he picked up two wickets in two balls. He hit Rashid for two sixes as well. He was so switched on, he could spot wides from the non-strikers' end (happened in the 15th over from Mohammed Siraj), and he dispatched that extra ball for six too.

Shashank Singh crashed 44 off 16 balls at the death to push Punjab to 243. Titans will have to pull off the IPL's second biggest chase if they are to win this game.

Iyer was putting the kind of pressure power hitters like Andre Russell and MS Dhoni do. He's making them hide the ball out of his reach and in that effort, forcing them to bowl wides. He got to 50 off 27 balls, which was quick enough. The rest of his 47 runs came off 15 balls. Punjab finish on 243 for 5 KKR, how are you feeling?

There's already some dew on the ground now. That should help batting. And teams have chased 200 before on this ground. But 244?

Shashank Singh played a big hand too. He took down Siraj in the last over

He's also been switched on in other ways, spotted a wide from the non-striker's end in the 15th over, reviewed it and got what he wanted. Guess what happened to the extra ball.

This is the 17th over. It began with a short ball that Iyer inside edged onto his ribs and he looked in visible pain. By the end, it was the bowler Prasidh Krishna who was wincing.

"We already know that IPL is an integral part of Indian cricket. And If I would want to mark myself at some position in T20, it would be No. 3."

Shreyas Iyer hadn't batted at No. 3 since IPL 2022. But he was emphatic about what role he will be playing for his new franchise.

He's been just as emphatic out in the middle. Titans would have wanted to build momentum after Sai Kishore's double-wicket over. But Iyer took Sai Kishore down when he came back to bowl. He's moved onto a 27-ball fifty now. He's monstered back-to-back sixes off Rashid Khan now.

"I wouldn't say that we are planning and thinking about what number I will be batting," Iyer said. "This time I'm quite clear about that position. And I'm going to be focusing on that number [3]. As long as the coach approves of me."

Sai Kishore jogs off after a game-changing over, beating Maxwell on the reverse sweep. Now GT are free to dictate terms with Rashid Khan

But to keep the drama going, replays show Maxwell wasn't out. Hawkeye projections say the ball he was lbw to would have bounced over the stumps

Punjab have Maxwell and Stoinis still waiting in the wings. Both of those guys have opened the batting for other teams and come with a bigger sample of work than the man they have trusted out there at No. 4 but there is a very specific reason he's out there.

Ricky Ponting in a sideline interview says Azmatullah Omarzai has been pushed up the order specifically to target Rashid Khan and the other GT spinners and that did pan out. First ball, he picked Rashid's googly and smashed him for four down the ground.

But he falls to GT's other spinner, R Sai Kishore. Gone for 16 off 15. Just before the wicket, Gill had a conversation with the bowler and the celebration involved the GT captain gesturing with his pointer finger, as if to say, told you so. The ball was a little slower, a little wider, and Omarzai dragged it into the leg side but had no timing.

Ever since he's walked out, Shreyas Iyer's timing has been spot on. Only four dots out of the 14 he's faced.

Arya falls for 47 off 23. He looked good. Seemed fluent on both sides of the wicket. Played an on the up cover drive for four that he will remember for the rest of his life. Didn't take a backwards step against quality bowling. But quality bowling does in the end find a way. He doesn't pick Rashid Khan's googly. Saw the length short. Went back to pull. Leading edge. Caught

Ironically enough, it's the man who dropped him getting punished. Arshad Khan's opening over, the fifth of the innings, goes for 21.

At this stage, PBKS are tracking towards a total of 211, according to ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster.

The new ball is swinging. There were seven plays and misses in the first three overs. Siraj produced four on the trot. He couldn't finish the over off though

Rabada, who was denied Arya's wicket in the first over, gets Prabhsimran in his second. Seriously, the quality of bowling in this game is incredible.

Priyansh Arya's first scoring shot in the IPL is a one-bounce four. That is not how you treat a fast bowler who has played nearly 100 games for his country

The 24-year-old left-hand batter has been buzzing about being part of the tournament, being around PBKS coach Ricky Ponting, learning from him. He's got a gorgeous, full swing of the bat. Clearly no-one's muddied his mind about using soft hands. See-ball, hit-ball.

Arya faced eight balls in the first two overs. He responded aggressively to five of them. Through all that though, he only has seven runs and is lucky to be out there after being dropped by Arshad Khan.

Shubman Gill was very clear as soon as the coin landed in his favour in Gujarat Titans opening game of IPL 2025. He chose to bowl and reeled off all the reasons for it. One, the dew. They saw plenty of it over the last week as they practiced in Ahmedabad. Two, from experience, he understood "there is not much help for the spinners." And three, lots of big totals have been chased down at Narendra Modi stadium.

Shreyas Iyer would have preferred to chase as well. Both captains will have noted that the team batting second has won five of the last six IPL games here. Iyer, playing for a new franchise this year after winning the IPL last year, had a headache picking his XI because he was "spoilt for choice." There were two IPL debutants among them, the opener Priyansh Arya and allrounder Suryansh Shedge.

A striking feature of both teams is the international quality in their bowling attacks. Kagiso Rabada will play his first game for his new franchise, the Titans, against his old franchise. His new-ball partner for South Africa, Marco Jansen, will be on the other side this time. Mohammed Siraj is looking for a new start with Titans after being omitted from India's squad for the Champions Trophy. Prasidh Krishna is in a similar situation, playing in the IPL for the first time since 2022.

Two high quality spinners will be on show as well in Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal. It is, however, unlikely that any of them will get any help. Eoin Morgan, aheaed of the toss, said this was a "take no prisoners" kind of pitch.

Titans' XI only had three overseas players. They are likely to bring in one of Sherfane Rutherford or Glenn Phillips at the time of the chase.

Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler, 4 Shahrukh Khan, 5 Rahul Tewatia, 6 R Sai Kishore, 7 Arshad Khan, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna

Punjab Kings: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Priyansh Arya, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Shashank Singh, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Suryansh Shedge, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

He is coming in on the back of picking up a spree of trophies, including at domestic level. He has said he wants to bat at No. 3 and if clips from his practice sessions are any indication, he isn't thinking about keeping the ball on the ground