Priyansh currently has the highest strike rate (200.62) by an Indian batter in IPL 2025 among those tallying a minimum of 200 runs.
It was raining sixes and fours at the Eden Gardens before the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings was called off due heavy rain and thunderstorms on Saturday.
Opting to bat first, the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab put a formidable 201-4 on the board, thanks to blistering knocks from their openers Prabhsimran Singh (83 off 49 balls) and Priyansh Arya (69 off 35 balls).
Chasing 202 for their fourth win of the season, KKR were 7 without loss in one over when rain interrupted the play and eventually forcing the umpires to abandon the match.
Both Priyansh and Prabhsimran feasted on a hapless KKR attack as skipper Ajinkya Rahane used all his bowling resources in a desperate bid to get a breakthrough.
Priyansh, one of the finds of the season, dominated from the start, piling on runs with relentless aggression and precision. Having already announced his arrival on the grand stage with a scintillating century against Chennai Super Kings earlier this season, he further added to his growing stature in the format with another explosive performance.
Priyansh started the proceedings in style, drilling the first ball of the innings from KKR pacer Vaibhav Arora to the cover boundary to open his account.
The Delhiite, who first made headlines by smashing six sixes in an over in a local league, repeated the shot off the final delivery of the over before driving the same bowler for a sweetly timed boundary in the third over.
A controlled chip over the infield off a length delivery from Harshit Rana showed that the youngster was in the form of his life.
The 24-year-old southpaw once again justified his billing as one of the most exciting young talents in the country as he raced away to his fifty in just 27 balls.
Prabhsimran, on the other hand, was relatively slower off the blocks, taking 32 balls to score his first 34 runs. He upped the ante in the 11th over bowled by Sunil Narine, carting the veteran spinner for two massive sixers to make up for the ‘slow’ start. In the next 17 balls he plundered 49 runs at a sensational strike rate of 288.23. His 49-ball 83 was studded with 6 fours and as many as sixes.
Priyansh currently has the highest strike rate (200.62) by an Indian batter in IPL 2025 among those tallying a minimum of 200 runs.
Record Stand
The breathtaking knock against KKR helped him overtake his captain Shreyas Iyer, who is second on the list with a strike rate of 184.02. In the overall standings, Priyansh is only behind LSG’s Nicholas Pooran who flaunts a staggering strike rate of 204.89.
Against KKR, he struck at 197.14 and clobbered four sixes and eight boundaries.
"He doesn't play rash shots. No reverse sweeps, no wild swings. He hits proper cricketing shots -- straight, through the covers, off the back foot. It's all about the timing and hard work in the nets," Priyanshi’s former coach Sarandeep Singh said after his maiden IPL century.
Exhibiting both aggressive intent and a diverse range of shots, the youngster has once again proved his coach right!
Photographs: BCCI
© 2025