IPL 2025 Pulse - Week #3

April 10

Royals crushed by Titans

The Rajasthan Royals walked into the Gujarat Titans' fortress seeking a fight and they were quickly humbled. Leaking 217 after opting to bowl first, the Royals huffed and puffed in their chase before running out of steam 58-runs short. GT can now boast of having six out of seven games against RR.

Stylish Sai shines again

Sai Sudharsan is having quite the tournament already. With his sizzling 82 off 53 last night, which included 8 fours and 3 sixes, he's closed in on Nicholas Pooran on the orange-cap list and is just 15 runs behind the Trinidadian. Did you know, Sudarshan only has 2 single-digit scores in his IPL career so far!

The magic is ... returning?

For all of Rashid Khan's fans and probably himself too, yesterday's encounter against RR was a relief. Not only did he belt 12 runs off the 4 balls he faced, crucially he picked up a couple of wickets after returning barren figures in his last three games. The change? He didn't bowl a single delivery that was full.

Passing the baton - DK to Jitesh

Jitesh Sharma has found a great mentor in the man he's replaced at RCB. Having already made impactful contributions to his side, this season has been quite the turnaround for the hard-hitting wicket-keeper and he was vocal about the support he received from Dinesh Karthik.

Home (no) advantage

Sure, RCB get the most raucous support at the M. Chinnaswamy but of late, that's about all they get when they play at home. They've got a dubious record on home turf and today, they face an unbeaten Delhi Capitals. Find out more about what's in store.

April 9

PBKS dismantle CSK

Very few teams can boast having a good record against CSK and the Punjab Kings have now made it a happy habit. Yesterday's 18-run win for the Punjab Kings now means that they've won six out of their last seven matches against the Chennai Super Kings. They also snapped a five-match losing streak at their home ground in Mullanpur. It was dropped catches that cost the visitors dearly once more.

Priyansh Arya dazzles

After a couple of failures, the 24-year old PBKS opener made a roaring statement with his 103 off 42 against CSK. On a day where the next five batters failed to cross single-digits, Arya held his team's innings together and set up a platform for fireworks lower down the order. He got to his hundred off just 39 balls - making it the joint 4th fastest.

LSG pip KKR in a run-fest

The Lucknow Super Giants overcame the defending champions and inflicted KKR's second defeat at home this season. After winning the toss, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane raised some eyebrows by opting to bowl first and the decision backfired. Powered by Markram's 47, Marsh's 81 and Pooran's 87, LSG posted 238/3. KKR started off in hot pursuit and kept well above the asking rate for the most part with Rahane's 61 and Venketesh Iyer's 45. On a day where most bowlers were taken to the cleaners, Digvesh Rathi's spell stood out and as the pressure mounted, KKR lost three quick wickets. Despite Rinku Singh's late dash, they fell four runs short.

Where is Andre Russell?

You wouldn't be blamed for wondering the same because in terms of performances this season, Andre Russell has been missing. KKR's 239-run chase was another opportunity to have impact squandered as the Jamaican could produce only 7 runs. Delve a little deeper into the matter here.

The pitch is at the centre ... of conversation

After his team's four-run loss to the Lucknow Super Giants, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane was extremely cautious when the topic of the surface, which had just seen 472 runs scored, was raised. Speaking after the game, "There have been enough talks over the wicket here. Main kuch bolunga to bawaal ho jayega (If I say anything, it'll lead to a big controversy)" said Rahane.

Carrying the winning momentum forward

The Rajasthan Royals, who've won their last two games, go up against an in-form Gujarat Titans who're on a three-match winning-streak. Both teams are heavily reliant on their top order for runs and Jofra Archer's return to form means that both teams also have formidable powerplay attacks. Who'll flinch first? Find out more in our preview.

April 8

RCB complete troika of iconic away wins

In a typically high-scoring game at the Wankhede Stadium, RCB beat MI by 12 runs to notch up their first win at the venue in ten years. It also meant a famous hat-trick of away wins for the franchise, having beaten KKR at Eden and CSK in Chepauk previously, heading to this contest. Virat Kohli set up RCB's batting effort while skipper Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma produced defining knocks to propel RCB to a tall score of 221. In reply, MI's chase seemed to go nowhere before Tilak Verma and Hardik Pandya combined for an encore that shook RCB. In the end, the hosts couldn't get across the line.

RCB outdo MI in tactics and spin smarts

In a game where bat dominated ball for most parts, it was about winning the moments of fine margins. RCB won the key tactical battles against MI, especially those between the spinners of both sides, despite the visitors having a key international bowler in Mitchell Santner. There were some other key moves as well where RCB trumped MI and those proved decisive.

Rohit and left-arm pacers - the trend returns

Since that famous night in Dubai when Pakistan shocked India at the 2021 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma's struggles against left-arm pace has been a constant chatter. In that match, he was felled by a cracker from Shaheen Afridi but there have been other instances too later on to suggest that India's ODI captain isn't entirely comfortable against this type of bowling. Yash Dayal added fuel to the fire on Monday (April 7) when he cleaned up MI's ex-captain with a cracking ball to renew talks about this topic.

Weekday IPL double whammy

Not often that we have an IPL double-header on a weekday. KKR will host LSG in the afternoon game which promises to be a cracking game. Both sides are high on promise but yet to really got going on a consistent basis. They are, however, both coming off wins and this should be a blockbuster. The second game sees the red-hit PBKS side hosting the shaky CSK outfit in what appears to be a potential mismatch on current form but you never know in T20, do you?

April 7

GT make it a hat-trick of wins

Remember Rutherford unable to touch Vyshak's wide yorkers and the GT dugout looking stunned? Well, that's well past us now. Since then, GT have won thrice in three matches, including handsome away wins against RCB and now SRH. For their latest win, their fourth in a row over SRH, they won a good toss, kept Pat Cummins's side to 152/8 (their second lowest total batting-first since 2024) and then hounded the total down with nearly four overs to spare. How good, how boring.

SRH fall 150 short of their 300 vision

Let's be honest, we all thought 300 was on the cards this season. Especially after 286 in the first match. Pat Cummins even gestured it, much to the delight of the local crowds, at one of the pre-season events. But something's gone broke. 150s now seem hard to come by. Since they pummelled RR in the opening match, the scores of SRH have been 190/9, 163, 120 and 152/8!

What's with the pitch?

For a team that's lost thrice in a row, you'd expect them to play on a belter to give their dangerous batting line-up a free run. But no, SRH unfortunately got to play on the slowest surface on square, one notorious for defending small totals. And the rest is history.

Siraj's new-ball love saga continues

The pacer, who was admittedly emotional after putting on a short that wasn't RCB's, has channelled his hurt into performances. He now has combined returns of 6/69 from 11 overs (ER: 6.27) in the powerplay this season! Those are mind-boggling numbers in this era of flat pitches and Impact Players, but Siraj seems to have rediscovered the good length area, his penchant for hitting the stumps and seems to be flourishing in the Gill-Nehra reign. His scarcely believable dot-ball percentage of 63.6% this season is only bettered by Josh Hazlewood (72.2%). Wow.

What's Vettori saying?

The SRH head coach feels the start by his team has been "glacial" but assured that both he and captain Pat Cummins don't like to "panic". He also said he understands "the ramifications of losing four in a row and how difficult it makes the season... We just haven't been near our best in any of the last four games. And I think that's all three disciplines. I think the barometer of most teams is how their fielding is going and we've been pretty poor in the field."

Rashid's picked a good time to be out of form...

Rashid Khan has gone wicketless now for three successive games in IPL 2025. And it's only happened for the second time in his IPL career, the previous being in 2024. Both these sequences have come in his most recent eight matches, which is a bit alarming but the one thing he'd be pleased about is that GT's still winning.

Bumrah is baaaaack!

Or as MI would say, "The Lion is Back and is ready to be the King of this Jungle again". Eish. That should sort their one-half of the powerplay, where they have been poor with both bat and ball. Head coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted too that there's an issue. Will Rohit be fit? How will MI restore Tilak's confidence after retiring him out? And can RCB win another on the road? It's all to play for in Mumbai. Here's our preview for MI v RCB!

April 6

It's Mullanpur again!

While Zaheer Khan, LSG's Mentor, might grudgingly believe Punjab's curator is handling the pitch in Lucknow, in Punjab itself, it's been a familiar homecoming for the Punjab Kings. The two-match victorious run in IPL 2025 has come to an end for the Shreyas Iyer-led side. And it's at their home ground Mullanpur, again, where they have now lost five consecutive games. Chasing 206 for a win, Punjab Kings could manage only 155 for 9. They were jolted early in the run chase, being reduced to 43 for 4 in the seventh over. However, Nehal Wadhera put on a fine showcase of his spin-hitting prowess with a 41-ball 62.

Royals wagon moves on

On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals are finally gathering some momentum in the tournament. They put up a fine all-round show on Saturday evening, arguably their best this season. But more than just that, they adapted better than the hosts. The two teams came with different spin-utilisation strategies, and there was ample success for one

3 in 3 for DC

Delhi Capitals put up another thumping performance to secure their third win of the season, and hand Chennai Super Kings their third successive defeat. DC's clinical performances aside, there are problems aplenty for the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side, across all departments. Narbavi R writes on CSK's troubles and their hopes to see the current combination find form.

Even while most of the team has misfired this season, Khaleel Ahmed is enjoying a good personal season so far. Deepu Narayan explores his quiet dominance in the latest edition of Data Shorts.

What's in store?

A clash between two sides who have made different starts to their campaign this season - Sunrisers Hyderabad hosting Gujarat Titans at home in their bid to return to their dominant, winning ways. Hyderabad's pitches may be ready for a big-scoring encounter, but are their batters and bowlers up for the challenge?

April 5

MI undone again

Chasing 204 for a win, Mumbai Indians fell 12 runs short of Lucknow Super Giants' total, despite Hardik Pandya's all-round show and Suryakumar Yadav's blazing 67. The five-time champions haven't been able to click as a unit this season, and the performance against LSG was merely a reflection of that. Nonetheless, with this win, LSG have pushed themselves to the sixth position on the points table.

Tilak Varma retired out!

Five balls into the penultimate over of the chase, Mumbai Indians retired out Tilak Varma, who was batting on 25 off 23. This was only the fourth instance of a batter retiring out in the IPL. What would probably be more worrying for MI at this point is that for the second game in a row, Tilak has lost momentum in his innings.

When desperation showed in details

After an emotional loss against Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants responded not with noise but with nuance at their home ground in Lucknow, slowing things down in what was a tricky contest against Mumbai Indians. Nonetheless, they let small moments, the ones that were easy to miss and absent from the highlights, shape their win. Prtayush Sinha writes on LSG's quiet urgency.

The Hardik Impact

Even as Mumbai Indians lost the clash against Lucknow Super Giants, Hardik Pandya stood out with his all-round contribution. He combined natural length with shrewd variations for maximum impact, en route to his five-wicket haul with the ball. Roshan Gede explains in the latest edition of Data Shorts.

Coach speaks

With only one win in four games so far, Mumbai Indians find themselves in a tricky position early in the competition. Mahela Jayawardene didn't hold back in admitting that the team made too many errors in the loss against Lucknow Super Giants and urged them to be more ruthless and be 'smart' in their execution at key moments.

What's in store?

It's a double-header day, with the first of the two clashes set to take place between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals in Chennai. Ruturaj Gaikwad is still uncertain to feature in the contest. CSK will take a late call on his availability. If he doesn't play, MS Dhoni could potentially lead the side once again.

There is a school of thought that Chennai matches can at times tend to carry a larger, "when does MS come out to bat" slant than the actual narrative of the game. Bharat Sundaresan writes about how the abiding romance of MS Dhoni and CSK has hit crossroads.

Later in the day, it is the turn of in-form Punjab Kings to come face-to-face with the rusty Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur. Even as PBKS are unlikely to have much familiarity with their new home ground, Royals would be the one who would in search of momentum after a thrilling win against CSK in their previous encounter.

The good news for Rajasthan Royals is that Sanju Samson is cleared to resume wicketkeeping duties. He will also return as the captain of the side for the clash against PBKS.

April 4

KKR regain Eden mojo

A long-standing cold war with the venue curator ended and it also brought about a return to winning ways at home for the defending champions who crushed SRH by 80 runs on Thursday (April 3). Finally, they were given the choice of pitch and KKR duly opted for a very dry pitch that aided spin. They still got to 200 on the back of Venkatesh Iyer's blitz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and cameos from Rinku Singh-Ajinkya Rahane. It was always well above par for SRH on this pitch and they lost their famed top-3 in just 13 deliveries as the game crashed early.

SRH's batting issues - a cause of concern?

One of the highlights of the 2024 IPL season was the intent shown by SRH's batters who redefined the fast-scoring norms in the tournament. However, another pattern that has emerged since is the franchise's inability to stick around on tricky surfaces where their gung ho approach just doesn't work. The other problem with their batting struggles is that it exposes the lack of depth in their bowling department. Pat Cummins' men need to find an answer before it gets too late this season.

Kishan's woes against the moving ball

Since his Mumbai Indians days, the one constant with Ishan Kishan's game has been his vulnerability against the moving ball. While it's true that most batters have this weakness in some form or the other, the problems magnify for Kishan. No batter has gotten out more often to the moving ball than the southpaw since IPL 2024.

Fidgety LSG eye first home win of 2025

It's been a topsy-turvy start to the season for LSG. They lost a thrilling opening game, one they should have probably won but bounced back to hammer SRH in Hyderabad. However, this has been followed by another crushing defeat to Punjab. Rishabh Pant's form is also a concern and LSG will hope it all turns around quickly. Will LSG get a pitch at Ekana that they want? They were vocal about this after the PBKS game where they felt the surface didn't help them Another home game beckons, this time against an MI side that has also had it's struggles but are fresh off a clinical home win themselves. Check out the match preview here.