With five wins, three defeats and a no-result, Punjab Kings are at the crossroads when it comes to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. They are currently in the fifth position after a superb start in which they had going unbeaten in their first four matches.
Set to play in bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, PBKS will be taking it one match at a time, hoping to score some wins and climb up the points table.
There’s no special planning — we’re taking it one match at a time. The only goal is to play our best cricket. If we focus on that, the results will take care of themselves. It’s simple — whichever team plays better on the day, wins. So our mindset is just to give our best in every game.
The 24-year-old batter admitted that they have not qualified for playoffs in recent times but this time the players are very motivated to win the trophy.
"Yes, we haven’t qualified in recent years, but every season brings new players, and every 2-3 years there’s a mega auction, so the team keeps changing. At the back of our minds, of course, there's a desire to qualify and win the trophy — we take that as motivation. But we don’t carry the baggage of the past. Even if we don’t qualify, nothing ends — we’ll come back stronger. Our thinking is positive, and our captain and coach are also positive-minded people. That helps us stay focused and avoid negative thoughts,” he said.
PBKS will be hoping to ride their brilliant top-order batters to overcome CSK. Besides Prabhsimran, Priyansh Arya(323 runs), skipper Shreyas Iyer (288) and Nehal Wadhera (189) have done well so far.
On the bowling front, India left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has spearheaded their attack with 11 wickets from eight innings while Yuzvendra Chahal (9) andMarco Jansen (8) are their top bowlers.
On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings' campaign has been riddled with selection dilemmas, misfiring stars, and a lack of impact in key moments. Adding to their woes is their unexpected struggle at Chepauk—once considered a fortress, but now a venue where the Men in Yellow have failed to assert dominance.
CSK skipper Mahendra Singh has done well in patches. He has taken over trhe reins of the team at a crucial juncture with regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad who has to sit out with injuries.
Noor Ahmad has been their most-successful bowler so far with 14 wickets while Khaleel Ahmed has bagged 12 wickets.
On recent form, CSK has lsot four of their last five matches while PBKS has won two matches,lost two while their last game against KKR was abandoned. Overall, they have played 31 matches so far with CSK bagged 16 matches while PBKS had won 15 wins.
It will be a crucial match for CSK because another defeat would mean see them crash out of contention. By winning another match, CSK will keep their faint hopes alive.
Probable playing XI: Chennai Super Kings: Ayush Mhatre, Shaik Rasheed, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), R Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Vijaay Shankar, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana.
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh.
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