IPL 2025: Punjab reign before storm

A thunderstorm almost immediately after the Kolkata Knight Riders had begun their reply to Punjab Kings’ 201-4 prevented further play at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. The Knights were 7-0 after just one over. Points were shared and it has all but derailed the defending champions’ hopes of a berth in the Playoffs. 

Openers on fire

PBKS’s openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh came good again, scoring big and at a brisk pace to nicely set it up for the middle-order, but it couldn’t quite use the momentum. Priyansh, who guided the first ball of the match through the offside cordon as Vaibhav Aurora delivered a half-volley, built on it quickly. Prabhsimran would soon catch up with a flurry of fours. 

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Prabhsimran Singh (left) and Priyansh Arya during their 120-run stand at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Saturday. Pic/AFP

The opening partnership produced 120 runs in 72 balls and would finally be broken in the 12th over. Priyansh pulled Andre Russell to Vaibhav at deep mid-wicket. The southpaw had scored 69 off 35 by then with eight boundaries and four sixes. It took his season’s total to 323 at an amazing strike-rate of over 200. Prabhsimran made sure the momentum didn’t sag, opening up with a flurry of big hits. 

When he fell, stroking a full-toss from Vaibhav straight to Rovman Powell at long-off, the Jamaican on the field as one of the two KKR debutants as the beleaguered defending champions set out to get a grip on the tournament. Prabhsimran’s 49-ball 83 had six fours and six sixes. 

Shreyas Iyer, KKR’s trophy-winning captain last season, coming in at one-drop, was unbeaten on a 16-ball 25 after being dropped by Vaibhav at deep square-leg off Russell when he was on 12. 

Vaibhav, who conceded 22 off his first two overs, managed to pull things back and finish with two wickets for 34. Varun Chakravarthy beat Prabhsimran twice in his first over, but the two PBKS openers got the better of him at times. He had one wicket for 39 from his four overs while Sunil Narine gave away 35 from his quota, 22 of them coming in his third over. 

Sakariya struggles

Debutant Chetan Sakariya began well, conceding just three runs in his first over, but the left-arm medium-pacer would soon discover that it’s a cruel world out there as the two openers took 18 from his second and third over. He was soon subbed out with in-form batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi coming in with an 
over to go. 

Brief scores
PBKS 201-4 in 20 overs (P Singh 83, P Arya 69; V Arora 2-34) vs KKR 7-0 in 1 over