The 18th edition of Indian Premier League has gathered pace in the past few games. RCB’s tight finish against MI on Monday was followed by a thriller in Kolkata, featuring KKR and LSG, on Tuesday. Here are the trends of the week.
Dominance of away teams
Away teams won 6 of the previous 9 matches of IPL 2025, the highlight being Delhi Capitals’ first win against CSK in Chennai since 2010 and RCB’s first win over MI in Mumbai since 2015. Lucknow Super Giants somehow managed to beat hosts Kolkata Knight Riders by just 4 runs, after scoring a whopping 238/3. The debate on home advantage is gaining more momentum with KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and SRH captain Pat Cummins voicing their opinions.
CSK, SRH and MI in deep trouble
We are in day 19 of IPL 2025 and the win on day 2 remain as the sole win of Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Both teams are on a four-game losing streak. Mumbai Indians are also in dire straits, winning just 1 of their 5 matches. Incidentally, the three home wins (KKR v SRH, LSG v MI and PBKS v CSK) of the previous 9 matches have come against these three teams.
Win toss and bat first?
Batting teams have managed to win 12 of the 22 matches in IPL 2025, and 7 of the last 9 games. However, the number of captains opting to bat first remain negligible. Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer’s decision to bat first against CSK broke the 17-game streak of toss winning captains opting to bowl first in night games. Are we going to see more teams opting to bat first?
Retired out dismissals and other tactical calls
Mumbai Indians retired out Tilak Varma, when the team needed 24 runs from 7 balls. CSK did the same thing against PBKS, when the asking rate went out of hand. Unfortunately, both moves failed to yield the desired outcome.
In the same game between CSK and PBKS, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer didn’t use Yuzvendra Chahal till the 17th over of the game. Presence of two left-handers, Shivam Dube and Devon Conway, was cited as the reason by Shreyas. Chahal did bowl the 17th over, when MS Dhoni was at the crease, and bowled an economical over (9 runs) to help maintain the pressure.
Uncapped heroes rule the roost
LSG spinner Digvesh Rathi’s performance against Mumbai Indians and PBKS opener Priyansh Arya’s sensational century against Chennai Super Kings raised the value of uncapped players for the third consecutive week.
Digvesh conceded just 21 runs in his four overs, whereas Priyansh scored 103 off just 42 balls, when none of the other top 6 batters reached double digit scores.
Mohammed Siraj – Star of the week
Mohammed Siraj took 7 wickets in the last 2 matches, and deservingly won the player of the match award in both matches. Siraj took 3/19 in Bengaluru, against his former team RCB. He followed it with a career best 4/17 against SRH, in his home town, Hyderabad.
Honorable mention – Hardik Pandya
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya delivered with both bat and ball in successive games, yet his heroics couldn’t stop Mumbai’s slide. Hardik took five wickets against LSG, the first ever five-wicket haul by a captain in IPL. His 28* off 16 wasn’t enough to overhaul a target of 204. Against RCB at home, Hardik impressed with his bat, smoking 42 off just 15 balls.
Mumbai Indians suffered successive defeats by 12 runs, despite the captain’s stunning form with the ball (7 wickets) and bat (70 runs from 31 balls).
Big three tracker
MS Dhoni copped severe criticism for his 26* from 30 balls against DC. He thwarted the criticism with a much better batting display against PBKS, smashing three sixes in his 12-ball 27.
Virat Kohli encountered a failure at home against Gujarat Titans, scoring 6 from 7 balls. His 42-ball 67 laid the foundation for RCB’s huge total of 221/5 vs Mumbai Indians.
Rohit Sharma missed MI’s game against LSG due to knee injury. Rohit made 17 off 9 against RCB, and was dismissed by Yash Dayal, the second of instance of him getting out to a left-arm pacer in 4 innings this season.
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.
