Shreyas Iyer punishes Prasidh Krishna severely with an unbeaten 42-ball 97 in his PBKS debut against GT.
Shreyas Iyer has marked his Punjab Kings debut with an unbeaten 97 off 42 balls in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season opener against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Iyer hit a whopping nine sixes and five fours on his way to the ton. His final partnership with Shashank Singh, in which they put up an unbeaten stand of 81 runs in a barely believable 28 balls, was the stand that stood out. He shared a couple of blistering stands with debutant Priyansh Arora and Marcus Stoinis, but the stand that stood out was his final one.
Iyer was made captain by the franchise after acquiring him for ₹26.75 crore, thus briefly making him the most expensive player in the history of the IPL auctions. He came in to bat at No.3 in the fourth over after the dismissal of Prabhsimran Singh, who fell for an eight-ball five.
Iyer first shared a 51-run stand off just 21 balls with IPL debutant Priyansh Arya, who fell on 47 off 23 balls. After Glenn Maxwell was run out for a golden duck, Azmatullah Omarzai scored 16 runs in 15 balls, causing a brief downturn.
IPL 2025 LIVE: Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings
However, Marcus Stoinis provided Iyer with competent support, resuming PBKS's charge. The pair smashed 57 runs for the fifth wicket off just 28 balls. Iyer was especially brutal in the 17th over against Prasidh Krishna, going 6, 4, 6, 6 between the second and fifth balls. After that, though it was the Shashank Singh show and the latter said later that Iyer asked him to score as many runs as possible in the last over and not worry about giving him strike. It meant that Iyer was stranded on 97 at the non-striker's end but Shashank went berzerk, himself staying unbeaten on 44 in 16 balls.
Iyer was captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last season and led them to their third IPL title. However, he was not included in the franchise's list of retentions ahead of the mega-auction last year and former Australia batter Matthew Hayden aluded to that in the commentary box while Iyer was in the 90s.
"Is there a bit of 'have some of this KKR'? He wins them the title, he moves and he has absolutely played a flawless innings. Just belting it everywhere, great timing, field awareness, fantastic striking. KKR, well, say no more," said Hayden.
IPL 2025: CSK opens bookings for RCB match, frustrated fans lash out on social media at ‘ticket scam’
File Photo. IPL 2025: Chennai Super Kings' captain Ruturaj Gaikwad tosses the ball during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
For their high-stakes matchup with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Chennai Super Kings opened up ticket bookings. As was to be expected, the number of seats available far outweighs the demand for the tickets. The fans are lining up in droves, at least digitally, for a chance to snap a ticket or two, but just like the previous time, many are left disappointed.
However, many are left disappointed by the overwhelming demand, with social media flooded with screenshots of the official ticket website, showing the length of these digital queues. Some users shared their slot in the line, with one user having more than 68,000 people ahead of them in the queue. This is leaving many fans frustrated as the official capacity of the Chidambaram stadium capping out at 38,000, with many of those seats reserved for TNCA and MCC club members, sponsors, partners, and other commitments.
A scam
Many fans have termed the ticket queue number system a “scam” due to the high demand. With the remark, "Another day, another scam for csk tickets," the user who was in the back of the 68,000 other people in the line lamented his predicament. “CSK well deserves two years ban for tickets scamming!!” was posted by another irritated user on X (formerly Twitter).
There were similar sentiments on social media ahead of the opening game against Mumbai Indians, as many fans were left disappointed without a ticket. Read more here
However, one cannot blame the franchise for the fans’ disappointment as the demand for CSK tickets, especially in elite games against the likes of RCB and MI, far outweighs the number of seats available for the game. This demand is nothing but a testament to MS Dhoni’s popularity amongst fans.
Additionally, given that Dhoni is getting close to being 44 years old, this may be the last time fans see him wear the yellow gloves. CSK will host RCB on Friday, March 28, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
IPL 2025: Rishabh Pant's stumping error cost LSG match against DC, wicketkeeper says 'these things happen in cricket'
Rishabh Pant didn't have the best of start with new franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing IPL 2025. Monday in Visakhapatnam, his team lost by one wicket to Pant's former team, Delhi Capitals.
Pant first failed to open his account and lost his wicket, which derailed Lucknow's momentum after the onslaught by Nicholas Pooran (75 off 30) and Mitchell Marsh (72 off 36). The two played explosive knocks and provided Lucknow with a solid foundation on which to capitalize in the final overs, but they were unsuccessful. Thanks to a brief cameo by David Miller (27* off 19) in the end Lucknow piled 209/8 on the board.
Lucknow carried the momentum when they walked out to defend and reduced Delhi to 65/5 in the seventh over. However, what followed next was next to incredible as two Indian uncapped stars - Ashutosh Sharma (66* off 31) and Vipraj Nigam (39 off 15) - led Delhi to victory with some assist from Proteas star Tristan Stubbs, who contributed with a healthy 34 off 22 balls.
Also read: Famous Delhi Capitals victory over Lucknow Super Giants by Ashutosh Sharma in incredible chase
However, LSG could have won the match in the final over itself when Delhi were six behind the 210-target. With Delhi batting at 204/9, Mohit Sharma stepped down the crease against Shahbaz Ahmed, missed the line and the ball went on to strike on his pad. It was not a difficult chance but Pant missed the opportunity to stump Mohit, following which the LSG skipper used the DRS for LBW. The review showed that the ball would miss the stumps, giving Delhi a breather.
After that, Mohit rotated the strike on the following ball, which, once more, could have been tight if Ayush Badoni had collected the ball and hit it at the stumps. The third ball was then dispatched downtown by Ashutosh to clinch the match in some style.
Pant was asked about the missed opportunity that played a major role in deciding the outcome of the match, to which the southpaw said it is a common occurrence in a game of cricket and the unit need to play better cricket.
"Definitely, luck plays a part in this game, and if it could have missed his (Mohit Sharma's) pads, it was a chance for stumping. But these things happen in the game of cricket. You can't focus on these things, but rather, you need to play better cricket," Pant said in the post-match presentation.
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