As he walked out to bat for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Ishan Kishan admitted he felt a few nerves. Having been released by Mumbai Indians, he was determined to prove a point in his first match for his new franchise.
To be very honest, the nervousness was there; I won't deny that. Pat and the coach gave me a lot of confidence. I just enjoyed my time in the middle. I was practising very hard. The preparation was very good, and I'm feeling confident.
And he had every reason to be. Kishan hammered a sensational 106 not out off just 47 balls, propelling Sunrisers Hyderabad to a mammoth 286/6 in their IPL 2025 opener against Rajasthan Royals.
His innings, laced with 11 boundaries and six sixes, was built on a solid foundation laid by Travis Head (67 off 48) and a brisk 45-run stand with Abhishek Sharma (24). Nitish Kumar Reddy (30) and Heinrich Klaasen (34) also chipped in as SRH posted the second-highest total in IPL history.
Despite Sanju Samson's blistering 66 off 37 balls and Dhruv Jurel’s aggressive 70 off 35, Rajasthan Royals fell short, finishing at 242/6. Late efforts from Shimron Hetmyer (42) and Shubham Dubey (34 not out) were in vain as SRH sealed a 44-run win.
SRH captain Pat Cummins was delighted with his team's performance.
Unbelievable. We get 280-odd, and it's scary. You know you're going to go for runs. You know it's going to be tough. When you have such a big score, one over can win it for your side. Ishan today was incredible. The preparation has been amazing. Our coaches have been fantastic. Everyone has come fit and firing.
Spinners Lead CSK Past Mumbai Indians
In a highly anticipated clash between five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by four wickets in a game dominated by spinners.
Two debutants stole the show—Noor Ahmad, playing his first match for CSK, scalped 4/18, while left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur impressed for Mumbai with 3/32. Their efforts defined the match as Chennai restricted Mumbai Indians to 155/9.
For MI, Tilak Varma (31) and stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav (29) were the top contributors, but their total proved inadequate.
We were actually 15-20 runs short, but the fight the boys showed was commendable. Amazing debut from Vignesh Puthur. MI is known for scouting youngsters, and he has a bright future ahead.
Chennai’s chase was anchored by captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (53) and an unbeaten 65 from Rachin Ravindra. While Puthur’s three-wicket burst threatened to make things interesting, CSK held firm to chase the target in 19.1 overs.
There are matches that get close sometimes, but happy to be on the winning side. Our spinners were right on the mark, and it was great to see them bowling in tandem at Chepauk. Noor is an X-factor, and it's good to have him in the team.
Brief Scores: SRH 286/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 106*, Travis Head 67, Heinrich Klaasen 34; Tushar Deshpande 3-44, Maheesh Theekshana 2-52) beat RR 242/6 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 70, Sanju Samson 66, Shimron Hetmyer 42; Harshal Patel 2-34, Simarjeet Singh 2-46) by 44 runs.
MI 155/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 31, Suryakumar Yadav 29; Noor Ahmad 4-18, Khaleel Ahmed 3-29) lost to CSK 158/6 in 19.1 overs (Rachin Ravindra 65*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 53; Vignesh Puthur 3-32, Deepak Chahar 1-18) by 4 wickets.
