India’s highest wicket-taker in T20I, Arshdeep Singh, commented on the high-scoring trends after his side, Punjab Kings’ 11-run victory over the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Despite racking 243 runs on the board in the first innings, Gujarat still managed to conjure 232 in the reply, despite struggling to score consistently across the innings.
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Arshdeep, who was the highest wicket-taker for his side with the two important wickets of Sai Sudharsan and Sherfane Rutherford, believes there are no par scores anymore in the format. He also praised Impact Substitute Vijaykumar Vyshak for consistently finding the wide yorker in pressure situations and allowing his side to control the game.
“The thought was simple and very clear – make them hit to the off-side, it is not easy to hit there if they hit a good shot, clap, say well played, and go again.
“Really happy for him (Vyshak), he is putting in the hard yards in the practice, was executing the yorkers really well in practice, and the results showed in the game as well. If you want to miss, miss on the wider side and not on the stumps. Even if it slips, even if it’s a full-toss, it won’t be easy for them to hit as it’s very far from their reach.
“Credit goes to all the batters who went in and smashed from ball number one. That’s how it goes in this format nowadays. There is no par score, 240, 250, 260 – score as much as possible and then try and defend it,” said Arshdeep in the post-game presentation.
Captain Shreyas Iyer, in his first game for his new franchise, scored at a breathtaking strike rate of 230.95, in an innings that included nine sixes and five boundaries on his way to scoring an unbeaten 97, his highest in the tournament. The right-handed top-order batter also reflected on his performance and claimed that doing well in the opening game is always the ‘icing on the cake.’
“Ecstatic, to be honest. Getting 97 not out in the first match is always the icing on the cake. No better feeling to be honest. It was important for me to go ahead and adapt. I got four off the first ball, which gave an immense boost. That flicked six off Rabada – I think the momentum changed.
“There was some extra bounce as well. I think we adapted quickly. You see, the 44 runs Shashank scored off 16 or 17 balls. With the dew coming in, we knew the scenario would change. Thankfully, we were able to execute,” said Iyer.
