IPL 2025: Round 1 recap – Ishan Kishan’s stellar debut, Rohit and MI’s unwanted records, Shreyas Iyer’s blitz and more

The 2024 season was the most explosive one in the history of IPL. Batter dominated the bowlers like no other season in 2024. Last year witnessed the four highest team scores (287, 277, 272, 266), the highest successful run-chase (262), and the most number of sixes (1260).

The organisers decided to have a level playing field by lifting the ban on using saliva to shine the ball and also allowed the 2nd bowling team to avail a used ball – albeit a dry one – after the 10th over to counter the dew effect, which severely aided the chasing team in the night games.

The rule changes haven’t managed to curb the hitting prowess of batters. If only, it forced the batters to be more aggressive, keeping the dew in mind.

The first five games of the season already witnessed 6 scores above 200, the exact number of occurrences over an entire season in IPL 2016. The ongoing season also saw 119 sixes being smashed and three batters – Mitchell Marsh, Azmatullah Omarzai and Shahrukh Khan – hit their very first ball of the season into the stands.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, holders of the record for the highest IPL total, missed their own record by just a solitary run, when they amassed 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals.

The Delhi Capitals achieved their highest successful run chase of 210, despite being reduced to 65/5 against Lucknow Super Giants.

Ex-players hurting former teams:

Phil Salt, representing RCB, smashed his former IPL team KKR in the season opener. Chasing 175, Salt smashed 56 off 31 balls and added 95 runs in under 9 overs with the veteran Virat Kohli.

Deepak Chahar, representing MI, dragged his new side to a respectable score by smashing 28 off just 15 balls, He also provided the early breakthrough in his very first over. Deepak Chahar started his Mumbai Indians Career on a positive note despite the 5-time champions going down in their season-opening game for the 13th consecutive time.

Mitchell Marsh started his life as a Lucknow player by smoking 72 off 36 against his former side, Delhi Capitals.

What’s IPL pressure? Ask the newbies

The popular notion about the IPL is that the pressure of playing an IPL game is far higher than playing an international game (may not be applicable for the Indian players).

Three talented individuals refused to believe in the conventional norms and announced their arrival in grand style.

Vignesh Puthur made his professional T20 debut in the IPL for MI, against their biggest rivals CSK, in a much anticipated Sunday blockbuster in Chennai. Vignesh, the 24-year old youngster from Kerala mesmerized the fans by taking three wickets in his first three overs, including the wicket of Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and T20 World cup winner Shivam Dube. Vignesh’s efforts weren’t enough to avoid a 4-wicket defeat for the Mumbai Indians.

The next day, 20-year old Vipraj Nigam from Uttar Pradesh played a crucial knock against Lucknow Super Giants, the team based out of Uttar Pradesh. Vipraj walked to the crease with his team at a perilous situation. Needing 97 from 45 balls with just 4 wickets in hand, a win for Delhi Capitals was on no one’s mind. Vipraj refused to accept the narrative and clobbered 39 off only 12 balls. Ashutosh Sharma, playing in his 2nd season ensured that Vipraj’s innings did end up in a winning cause.

Unlike Vignesh & Vipraj, Punjab Kings opener Priyansh Arya got the opportunity to showcase his talent in the first innings. Priyansh lasted just one over beyond the powerplay, but already made a vital contribution with his 23-ball 47, and his explosive start allowed the Kings to rebuild when Azmatullah Omarzai and Glenn Maxwell got out off successive balls in the 11th over.

What about the expensive signings?

The pressure of the price tag is a real thing. The most expensive players seldom justify the amount teams pay for their service. Mitchell Starc, the most expensive signing until the 2025 Mega auction is a classic case. Starc had a very ordinary league stage in 2024, and he came to his own only in the playoffs. Starc emphatically silenced the critics with a player of the match performance in the final against SRH.

Two of the three expensive signings of the 2025 auction encountered ordinary starts in their first game.

Venkatesh Iyer, the third most expensive signing (23.75 crore) was the first to be under the spotlight. Venkatesh made 6 off 7 against RCB and was cleaned up by Krunal Pandya’s 101 KM quicker ball.

Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh’s captain at KKR and the 2nd most expensive signing (26.75 cr) in the history had a memorable debut game against Gujarat Titans. Shreyas was quick to get off the blocks and was relentless against the whole bowling attack of the Titans, including the likes of Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada. Shreyas, after making his highest IPL score (97* off 42), was also impressive with his captaincy. Shreyas exhibited the traits of a selfless captain by asking Shashank Singh to not worry about his century and instead focus on playing aggressive shots.

Rishabh Pant, the most expensive player (27 crore) in the history of the IPL had a forgettable outing against his former team Delhi Capitals, with whom he was associated with for 9 years. Pant bagged a 6-ball duck with the bat and also missed a crucial stumping opportunity in the last over.

And the legends?

Virat Kohli danced with Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the grand opening ceremony at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, ahead of RCB’s opening game against KKR. Virat Kohli, who played the first ever IPL game against the same opposition in 2008, scored a brisk 59* off just 36 balls and his 25 runs in the first 10 balls was the joint fastest start he ever had in the league.

MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, two of the triumvirates faced off against each other in Chennai on Sunday. Rohit Sharma bagged his 18th IPL duck, whereas Dhoni rolled back the clock by effecting a stumping in just 0.12 seconds to send MI skipper SuryaKumar Yadav back to the pavilion.

The feel good factor

Ishan Kishan had a tough 15 months. He lost his place and central contract with the national team, saw his auction value getting reduced from 15.25 cr to 11.25 cr. Unperturbed by all the difficulties, Kishan stroked a scintillating 103* off just 47 balls on his debut for SRH. Kishan also achieved the distinction of being the first Indian to smash a century for the orange outfit.