Priyansh Arya became only the second batter to score a hundred in IPL 2025 when he notched up a 42-ball 103 in Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) home match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Mullanpur on Tuesday. 

This was his maiden IPL century and it came off just 39 balls and it was the joint-fourth fastest hundred in the IPL. 

Punjab Kings won by 18 runs.

Arya however set the tone for Tuesday’s match in emphatic fashion from the very first ball when he hit a six. This is only the fourth time an IPL match has begun with a maximum. 

He then went on to hammer nine sixes and seven fours in a breathtaking 103 off just 42 balls. In doing so, he became only the eighth uncapped player in IPL history to register a century. 

Arya’s rise to prominence through his explosive performances in the Delhi Premier League is well-documented. He was the tournament’s leading run-scorer in 2024, amassing over 600 runs in 10 matches, including two centuries and four half-centuries. 

His standout performances caught the attention of IPL scouts, leading to his acquisition by the Punjab Kings for INR 3.8 crore (about $500,000) – a substantial investment in the flamboyant 24-year-old batter.

Arya, who was Player of the Match, said after Tuesday’s match that his century was an “out of the world feeling. I feel very happy but I feel I should contribute more to the team. Shreyas told me to bat with intent, you go for it even with your first ball after I got out last match. When Nehal came out to bat, I told him we will look for singles and doubles, but he told me you play the way with whatever first comes to your mind. All bowlers are good, any bowler could have troubled me.”

Wednesday’s match

Gujarat Titans will take on Rajasthan Royals today, Wednesday April 9.  The match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and a high-scoring contest could be on the cards.

Fans across Afghanistan can tune in to watch the match, live and exclusively on Ariana Television from 5:30 pm.

Openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram hit half-centuries to set up a tense 12-run victory for Lucknow Super Giants against IPL heavyweights Mumbai Indians on Friday.

Five-time champions Mumbai suffered an early blow when former skipper Rohit Sharma missed the match due to an injury to his knee during training, AFP reported.

Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya claimed his maiden T20 five-wicket haul and then hit an unbeaten 28 off 16 balls but the effort went in vain as his team slipped to their third defeat in four matches.

Lucknow posted 203-8 as Marsh, who hit 60, and Markram, who made 53, put on 76 runs for the opening wicket after being invited to bat first at their home ground.

Bowlers combined to restrict Mumbai to 191-5 despite Suryakumar Yadav’s 43-ball 67 and Pandya’s late blitz as Lucknow bounced back from a loss for their second win in four matches.

Mumbai needed 29 off the last 12 balls when Shardul Thakur gave away just seven runs in the 19th over and fellow quick Avesh Khan kept his calm after being hit for a six on the first ball of the last over.

Mumbai’s impact substitute Tilak Varma made 25 off 23 balls before he retired out in the penultimate over.

Australia Marsh set up victory with an attacking 31-ball knock that set the tone for the hosts’ domination as he smashed nine fours and two sixes.

Marsh, who is playing in this IPL only as a batsman and registered his third half-century of this season, finally fell caught and bowled to rookie left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur.

West Indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran departed after his quick 12 as Pandya got his first and soon dismissed skipper Rishabh Pant for two.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who broke an IPL auction record when he went to Lucknow for a whopping $3.21 million, has flopped with the bat with scores of 0, 15 and two in the earlier matches.

Markram stood firm and put together 51 runs with Ayush Badoni, who hit 30, to pull Lucknow through the middle phase before fellow South African David Miller joined the charge.

Pandya kept up his bowling form as he sent back Markram but the left-handed Miller hit 27 off 14 balls to boost the total.

Pandya took two successive wickets in the 20th over but a hat-trick was avoided after a wide ball and he finished with figures of 5-36 — a first five-wicket haul for an IPL captain.

Saturday’s Matches

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BBCI) announced Wednesday that Match 19 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has been rescheduled and will be played on Tuesday, April 8 at 2:30 pm Kabul time. 

The match was originally scheduled to take place this Sunday, April 6. 

Sunday will now be a single-header match day, opposed to the usual double-header schedule. Sunrisers Hyderabad will play Gujarat Titans at 6 pm Kabul time as originally scheduled. 

However, two matches will be played on Tuesday, April 8. First up will be KKR vs LSG, followed by the Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings. 

Wednesday’s match

Wednesday, April 2, saw Punjab Kings cruise to an 8-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants after a dominant all-round performance.

A disciplined bowling effort restricted LSG to 171/7 at home before PBKS chased it down in style. 

Player-of-the-Match Prabhsimran Singh (69 off 34), skipper Shreyas Iyer (52* off 30), and Nehal Wadhera (43* off 25) powered the visitors to a flawless finish, keeping them unbeaten in the league. 

This convincing win propelled PBKS to second place in the points table, boosting their confidence for the games ahead.

Thursday’s match

Today, Thursday April 3, will see Kolkata Knight Riders take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The match will start at 6 pm Kabul time. Once again, Ariana Television will  broadcast this thrilling event live across Afghanistan.