Punjab Kings opener Priyansh Arya smashed a 39-ball century, tying with Australia’s Travis Head for the fourth-fastest hundred in Indian Premier League history. His explosive knock powered PBKS to 219/6 against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday. Arya’s 103 off 42 balls included seven fours and nine sixes, striking at an impressive 245.24. Despite wickets falling at the other end, he counter-attacked and reached his hundred in record time. His century is the second-fastest by an Indian batter in IPL, behind Yusuf Pathan’s 37-ball ton for Rajasthan Royals in 2010.
Chris Gayle holds the record for the fastest IPL century, scoring a 30-ball hundred for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Pune Warriors India in 2013. Arya’s century is also the eighth IPL ton by an uncapped player. After PBKS opted to bat, they struggled at 83/5 before Arya, Shashank Singh (52* off 36), and Marco Jansen (34* off 19) launched a strong comeback. Arya and Shashank built a 71-run partnership, followed by a 65-run stand between Shashank and Jansen.
For CSK, Khaleel Ahmed (2/45) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/48) were the top bowlers. Mukesh Choudhary and Matheesha Pathirana picked up one wicket each.