Shreyas Iyer made a remarkable debut for the Punjab Kings, scoring an impressive unbeaten 97 runs off 42 deliveries in their opening match of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. During his innings, Iyer struck an astonishing nine sixes and five fours. He formed several explosive partnerships, notably with debutant Priyansh Arora and Marcus Stoinis, but the highlight was his final collaboration with Shashank Singh, as the duo amassed an unbroken 81 runs in just 28 balls.

The franchise appointed Iyer as captain after acquiring him for ₹26.75 crore, briefly making him the most expensive player in IPL auction history. He entered the batting order at No. 3 in the fourth over, following the dismissal of Prabhsimran Singh, who scored five runs off eight balls.

Iyer initially partnered with IPL newcomer Priyansh Arya, contributing to a rapid 51-run partnership in just 21 balls before Arya was dismissed for 47 runs off 23 balls. Following this, the team's momentum dipped slightly, with Azmatullah Omarzai managing 16 runs off 15 balls, and Glenn Maxwell departing for a golden duck.

IPL 2025 LIVE: Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings

PBKS's momentum picked up again as Marcus Stoinis provided valuable support to Iyer. The duo amassed 57 runs for the fifth wicket in a mere 28 balls. Iyer was particularly aggressive in the 17th over against Prasidh Krishna, hitting a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 6 between the second and fifth deliveries. Following that, Shashank Singh took center stage, later revealing that Iyer had encouraged him to score as many runs as possible in the final over without worrying about giving him the strike. Consequently, Iyer found himself stranded on 97 at the non-striker's end, while Shashank unleashed a flurry of runs, finishing unbeaten on 44 off 16 balls.

Last season, Iyer captained the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and guided them to their third IPL championship. However, he was not retained by the franchise before the mega-auction last year, a point noted by former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden during commentary while Iyer was nearing his century. 

"Is there a hint of 'take that, KKR'? He leads them to a title, moves on, and is now delivering a flawless innings. Just smashing it everywhere, with excellent timing, field awareness, and remarkable striking. KKR, well, what more can be said?" Hayden remarked.

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