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GT vs PBKS Hits & Flops: Full marks for Shreyas Iyer, Mohd Siraj takes a beating

GT vs PBKS Hits & Flops: A franchise that revamps every three years won over a side that believes in consistency. The former was Punjab Kings, which went off to a flyer with the bat, setting an impossible target of 244. The latter, Gujarat Titans, full of promises, fell 11 runs short of the target. While it could go down as a narrow loss, Shubman Gill could find it increasingly difficult to convince others. However, full marks for PBKSโ€™s new captain Shreyas Iyer, who was all but written off from the T20 format ahead of IPL 2025.

As Shreyas delivered and Gill missed the mark, there were other heroes, some of whom did not live up to the billing. Letโ€™s take a look at the Hits and Flops of the GT vs PBKS match in IPL 2025.

GT vs PBKS: Hits

Shreyas Iyer, Punjabโ€™s new hero

Before the IPL 2025, all the buzz was about how Shreyas Iyer could solidify his position in the Indian ODI XI. However, not many gave him a chance in T20s. His last T20I was back in 2023. Since then, he has had some underwhelming performances despite leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024. However, Punjab Kings management had faith in him as they splashed Rs 26.75 Cr for Iyer at the auction.

A franchise that undergoes an overhaul consistently was looking at a consistent player. Iyer, with a flawless knock of 97 runs off 42 balls, proved why PBKS trusted him. His knock was unlike Iyerโ€™s. Stroking at 230.95, he could have easily gone for the ton. But he asked Shashank Singh to play his innings and not bother about his century. Shreyas Iyer remained stranded on 97, but he had no regrets.

As the captain, he was on the money. He gambled with Priyansh Arya at the top, and he delivered. Then, he brought in Vyshak Vijaykumar as an Impact Sub in the 14th over. Vyshak started off with a long erroneous over but still gave away only five runs. Iyerโ€™s gamble paid off as GT failed to play fluent shots in the death.

Shashank Singh: The right one

The wrong Shashank Singh is now the right choice for Punjab. After a wonderful IPL 2024, Shashank has once again started with a bang. He hit an unbeaten 16-ball 44 to take Punjab to 243/5.

Priyansh Arya
Priyansh Arya smashed 23-ball 47 on IPL debut

Priyansh Aryaโ€™s instant impact on IPL debut

Son of school teachers in Delhi, Priyansh Arya showed glimpses of what he is capable of with two centuries and 608 runs in Delhi Premier League. He followed that up with a century against UP in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. As Punjab Kings fought off other teams to bag him for Rs 3.8 Crore, all eyes were on him. On his IPL debut, against a senior pacer like Mohd Siraj, he never looked like a junior player. He played a fluent knock of 47 runs off 23 balls.

Sai Sudharsan: Anchoring knock

The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan beg the question: do you really need an anchor in T20 format? Then they play some of the best innings under pressure, leading their teams to victory. Sudharsan might have missed out on leading the team to victory but his 41-ball 74-run knock had all the promises of a Kohli or a Rahul. He could take on bowlers effortlessly as he showed with five boundaries and six huge sixes.

Shubman Gillโ€™s quickfire 33

Not many equate Shubman Gill with a fast start. But as Sudharsan was playing the anchor role, Gill took his chances, hammering 44 off just 14 balls before he gave his wicket away to Glenn Maxwell. But if this is what Gill will offer in IPL 2025, fans can expect plenty of wonderful knocks from him.

GT vs PBKS: Flops

Glenn Maxwell

For a third time, Glenn Maxwell is a Punjab Kings player. Everyone knows what he is capable of. Not many have forgotten that double century against Afghanistan in the World Cup in Mumbai. However, Maxwell is also the player with an unwanted record. He has the most ducks in IPL history with 19. On his return to PBKS, he got a golden duck.

However, it would have been different had he taken the review. Sai Kishoreโ€™s delivery was missing the top of the stumps. But Maxwell did not take the review and walked off after consulting Shreyas Iyer. But the Australian did make up for that with the ball, getting the wicket of Shubman Gill.

Mohammed Siraj

IPL 2025 was supposed to be a path to redemption for Mohd Siraj. He was dropped from the India squad following a poor Australia tour. He was also released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. But Gujarat paid a whopping Rs 12.25 Crore for him to replace Mohammed Shami. As Siraj failed to fill in Shamiโ€™s shoes in the India Team, he failed again at GT. A young Priyansh Arya bossed over him as the pacer went for 20 runs in the powerplay and 34 runs in the death. Overall, he went for 54 runs in 4 overs without any success.

GTโ€™s bowling struggle in death

Shreyas Iyer and Shashank Singh took Gujarat bowlers to the cleaners, hammering 77 runs in the last four overs. Prasidh Krishna conceded 24, Rashid Khan gave away 20, while Siraj was hammered for 23 runs. That capped off a poor death overs bowling. With the winning margin being just 11 runs, those four overs cost Gujarat Titans the match.

Sudharshanโ€™s slow start

Known for playing big knocks, Sai Sudharsan delivered on that promise, scoring a 41-ball 74 with a strike rate of 180.49. However, itโ€™s his powerplay batting that raises questions. Sudharshan could only manage 26 runs off 21 balls in the powerplay with nine dot balls. In a mammoth chase of 244, if a batter plays that many dot balls at the start, it puts pressure on other batters. Had he started a little better, the result could have been different.

The post GT vs PBKS Hits & Flops: Full marks for Shreyas Iyer, Mohd Siraj takes a beating appeared first on Inside Sport India.



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