Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Star young batter Priyansh Arya seems to love clearing the ropes – and he does it against any bowling attack. During the IPL 2026 clash against Lucknow Super Giants, Arya unleashed brutal hitting, smashing 93 off just 37 balls to power Punjab Kings to a mammoth 254/7. He was well supported by fellow left-hander Cooper Connolly, who struck 87 off 46 deliveries.At a packed Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, PBKS defended their season-high total of 254/7 by restricting LSG to 200/5. With this win, the in-form Punjab Kings extended their strong run to stay at the top of the points table, while LSG slumped to their third straight defeat and dropped to eighth place.Arya, who hammered four boundaries and nine sixes, tore into the LSG bowlers from the outset and raced to his fifty in just 19 deliveries with relentless strokeplay.In the process, he went past KL Rahul for the most fifties scored in under 20 balls in the franchise’s history. Arya’s 93 came at a stunning strike rate of 251.35, and he looked set for a well-deserved century before falling seven runs short – caught at long-off by Mitchell Marsh off Manimaran Siddharth.Arya was adjudged Player of the Match for his explosive knock.
He now has three fifties in under 20 balls – including a 19-ball half-century against LSG this season, a 16-ball effort against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and another 19-ball fifty against Chennai Super Kings last season.Rahul, in comparison, had recorded a 14-ball half-century against Delhi Capitals in 2018 and a 19-ball fifty against Chennai Super Kings in 2019.In five innings for PBKS this season, Arya has scored 211 runs at an average of 42.20 and a strike rate of 248.23, including two fifties. He has smashed 14 fours and 20 sixes so far.Overall, in 22 matches for Punjab Kings, Arya has accumulated 686 runs at an average of 31.18 and a strike rate of 196.00, with a century and four fifties.Batters with multiple 50+ scores in under 20 balls for Punjab Kings in IPL history:Priyansh Arya – 3(vs LSG Today | vs SRH 2026 | vs CSK 2025)KL Rahul – 2(vs CSK 2019 | vs DD 2018)
