Kolkata: Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja showered praises on Punjab Kings' young opener Priyansh Arya for his impressive outing against Kolkata Knight Rider's in a rain-affected match in the IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens.
Arya once again underlined his rising credentials with a fluent 69 off 35 deliveries, giving PBKS early momentum. The young opener mixed timing and aggression effortlessly, striking at nearly 200 during the powerplay.
In his debut IPL season, the 24-year-old batter is scoring consistently at the top of the order for PBKS and became the tenth batter to pass 300 runs this season; his 69 in 35 balls took his runs tally to 323 from nine innings. That put him at No. 9. ahead of Delhi capitals' KL Rahul, who also has the same number of runs but his inferior strike rate makes him No. 10.
"He just played the way he does and played long enough. It's a template that he would probably take forward. He wasn't just going out there and smacking everything at the start of the evening, which is what he's comfortable with. But once the spin came on or the opposition showed their strength, he held himself back.
"He played the way he should have. He managed to shift gears again today — pulled his gear back when needed. It's not that he can only go one way. That would give him a lot of confidence. An experience like this would make him an even better player. He's a fabulous player and should carry on the way he is, but you need to keep adding to yourself. Today is a day he would probably be very satisfied with," Jadeja said on JioHotstar.
Opting to bat first on a dry surface, PBKS posted 201 for 5 in their allotted 20 overs. Openers Arya and Prabhsimran Singh provided a strong start, putting together a 120-run partnership. After Arya's dismissal, Prabhsimran Singh took charge, anchoring the innings with a 49-ball 83.
However, inclement weather and uninterrupted rain in Kolkata led to the abandonment of the match, with both teams sharing a point each. The result means PBKS moved to fourth place in the points table with 11 points from nine games, while the KKR occupied seventh place with seven points from nine games.
Ex-Aussie cricketer Matthew Hayden while commenting on Prabhsimran’s innings, said, "He had really good power. His strike rate was sort of sitting and hovering in that 120 to 130 category for some time. There was also really good partnership building between him and Priyansh."
"Prabhsimran then just put his foot to the floor, and all of a sudden he started to get his power release shots going — big shots, square of the wicket, down the ground. Using his impact shots that were sliding that way or going the other way. That put pressure on all the bowlers as well," he added.
Punjab Kings will now turn their attention to their next fixture against bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, looking to build on the positives from their batting display.
IANS