Udaipur, April 9, 2025: There was never any doubt about his talent; Priyansh Arya had already shown what he could do in the Delhi Premier League and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And now, he proved it in the IPL too. Punjab’s Priyansh Arya scored a brilliant century in just 39 balls against Chennai Super Kings. It is the fourth-fastest century in IPL history in terms of balls faced. Among players who have not yet played international cricket, this is now the fastest century in IPL.

Arya’s rise has been sudden. He hasn’t played any first-class matches yet. In List 'A' cricket, he has played 7 matches and scored only 77 runs in total.

This left-handed opener came into the spotlight with his outstanding performance in the Delhi Premier League in August last year. In one match, playing for South Delhi against North Delhi, he smashed 6 sixes in 6 balls off left-arm spinner Manan Bhardwaj.

In that tournament, Arya scored the highest number of runs — 608 in 10 innings. His strike rate was 198.69. He scored 4 fifties and 2 centuries in those 10 innings and hit a total of 43 sixes.

43 Sixes in a Season!

Priyansh Arya hit 43 sixes in a single season of the Delhi Premier League. That’s when people started to notice his power-hitting ability.

Big Knock Before the Auction

Next came the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Just before the IPL auction, Arya scored 102 runs off 43 balls for Delhi in this tournament. He did it against top-class bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Piyush Chawla.

From ₹30 Lakhs to ₹3.80 Crores

Arya's base price in the IPL auction was just ₹30 lakhs. But his strong performances raised his value to ₹3.80 crores, the highest among uncapped players this year. Punjab Kings bought him after a bidding war with Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Punjab saw the result of that decision in yesterday’s match.

A Special Innings in a Tough Situation

Big innings are common in IPL. But Arya’s century was special. When Punjab was struggling at 83 for 5, none of the top five batters reached double figures.

Even more impressive, Arya played this inning against a strong bowling attack — MS Dhoni was keeping wickets, while Patirana, Noor Ahmed, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja were the bowlers.

In the 13th over, Arya smashed 3 sixes and a four off Patirana. That boundary brought up his century!

Slow Start, Big Comeback

So far, Arya has played 4 matches in IPL 2025. He started well with 47 runs on debut but then got out for 8 and 0 in the next two games. He had hit just 2 sixes in those three matches. But he made a big comeback in the last game, hitting 9 sixes and scoring a brilliant century.