Sunrisers Hyderabad ended a four-match losing streak in style by pulling off the second-highest run chase in IPL history, effortlessly chasing 246 against the team that holds the record. The win was made possible by Travishek, who finally clicked this season.
On a Hyderabad pitch back to its batting-friendly best after last week’s turner against Gujarat Titans, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head capitalised, punishing Punjab Kings with the season’s highest partnership – 171 in just 12.2 overs – after two missed chances off Abhishek.
The left-hander, previously without a six this season, smashed six on his way to a 40-ball century that floored PBKS. He then added a few more after celebrating his landmark with a note: “This one is for the Orange Army.”
Abhishek’s maiden IPL century – the highest score by an Indian – stole the spotlight, but Harshal Patel’s 4 for 42 was just as crucial, helping cut PBKS short by at least 20 runs from what they seemed set to score. It was only their second loss of the season, made worse by an injury to key pacer Lockie Ferguson.
Coming off scores of 18, 2, 1, and 6, Abhishek hit the ground running with three consecutive fours off Marco Jansen in the second over of the chase. Head followed suit by giving similar treatment to Arshdeep Singh, peppering the ball to different pockets.
Abhishek got a lifeline on 28 when Yash Thakur, who came on as an Impact Sub for Nehal Wadhera, overstepped and had him slice a catch to deep point. Abhishek capitalized on the free-hit with his first six of the season, sparking the explosion.
PBKS’s woes deepened as Ferguson walked off clutching his hip two balls into his spell, and when Yuzvendra Chahal dropped Abhishek off his own bowling on 57, the wheels had truly come off. Abhishek punished him with a six next ball, as SRH stormed to 100 by the eighth over.
Having watched the carnage from the other end, Head pummelled Glenn Maxwell for back-to-back sixes as SRH were halfway to their target inside the ninth over of their chase. The carnage bubbled over into full-blown tension when Maxwell let out a few fiery words to Head, with Marcus Stoinis playing mediator.
Among all the big sixes Abhishek hit, a strong bottom-handed helicopter shot off former team-mate Marco Jansen stood out. This six off an attempted yorker was a follow-up to a short ball on the body which Abhishek managed to pummel over deep square. He ended the over with back-to-back fours, ridiculously scooping and picking off length balls behind the wicketkeeper.
By the time PBKS had a wicket, when Chahal had Head holing out to Maxwell at long-on, the muted celebration told you the story of a team that had already been deflated. Abhishek raised his century four balls later as the Orange Army stood up and applauded.
Abhishek would hit five more sixes after bringing up his maiden IPL century, and when he fell in the 17th over to good friend and Punjab team-mate Arshdeep, there was widespread applause from both the crowd and the opponents.
Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan then saw off the chase with nine balls to spare.
A 36-ball 82 from Shreyas Iyer and an early turbocharge from Priyansh Arya that helped raise the joint-fastest half-century of the season helped set up the game.
PBKS threatened to blaze past 250 halfway into the innings, but then appeared to fall well short of that mark as Harshal picked up the big wickets of Shreyas and Glenn Maxwell in a gun 18th over – he finished with 4 for 42.
Then Marcus Stoinis, who hadn’t made much of an impact with the bat, got stuck into Mohammed Shami, hitting him for four consecutive sixes in the final over that went for 27 as PBKS finished with 245 for 6. Shami’s figures read a forgettable 4-0-75-0, his most expensive spell.
Generally used at the death, Harshal was brought on early to try and stem the run flow, and he delivered in his very first over, the fourth, when he had Arya hack an off-cutters to the longer leg-side boundary with Nitish Reddy taking the skier at mid-on.
But his real impact was in the last six overs. Coming on for his third, in the 15th, he foxed the dangerous Shashank Singh with an offcutter that trapped him lbw in a nine-run over.
Then off the 18th, with PBKS looking for a lift-off, he had a struggling Maxwell bowled off a dipping slower ball as he attempted a reverse ramp, and then Iyer two balls later when he took all the pace off to have him lob one to point in trying to hit the ball over the infield.
In between Harshal’s heroics, Eshan Malinga, the Sri Lankan seamer, gave a good account of himself on debut to pick up two wickets.
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 247 for 2 in 18.3 overs (Abhishek sharma 141, Travis Head 66, Heinrich Klassen 21*; Arshdeep Singh 1-37, Yuzendra Chahal 1-56) beat Punjab Kings 245 for 6 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 82, Prabhsimran Singh 42, Priyansh Arya 36, Nehal Wadhera 27, Marcus Stoinis 34*; Harshal Patel 4-42, Eshan Malinga 2-45) by eight wickets
MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube bump fists in the middle [BCCI]
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were staring at the prospect of losing a sixth game in a row when MS Dhoni joined Shivam Dube with five overs left in the chase. But Dhoni won the battle against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamers with an 11-ball 26 while Dube made 43 to give them their second win in seven outings.
LSG captain Rishabh Pant felt right after the game that LSG were “10-15 runs short” in their first-innings effort. Despite Pant’s own 49-ball 63, his first half-century in LSG colours, they scored only 166 for 7 in 20 overs, their lowest total of the season. They were pegged back by Ravindra Jadeja’s two wickets and kept in check by Noor Ahmed’s miserly four overs that went for only 13 runs.
After CSK’s opening partnership put them on course early, LSG dragged the game back with their spinners. Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi and part-time offspinner Aiden Markram produced combined figures of 11-0-80-4, but a 19-run over from Shardul Thakur in the penultimate over ended LSG’s hopes.
When Dhoni walked in at the 15th over, Dube had made only 17 in his first 20 balls. Dube had failed to boss the spinners like his usual self and the dismissals of Vijay Shankar and Jadeja had only added to the pressure.
But Dhoni enjoys pace, coming into the game with a strike-rate of 222 against seamers since IPL 2024, and LSG supplied him with just that. Despite one over of Bishnoi left, LSG went for Avesh Khan and Shardul Thakur, and their wide yorker plan to both batters ended up being predictable.
Dhoni edged a couple of fours down to deep third but showed his power by punching a boundary through the covers, flicking a full toss over midwicket and dragging a one-handed six over deep square leg.
He also ran his ones and twos, sometimes gingerly, with Dube and took the pressure off him. When Shardul bowled two full tosses at the start of the 19th over, Dube smacked him for four and a no-ball six.
Dhoni picked up his first IPL player-of-the-match award since 2019 while Dube, soon after hitting the winning runs, said he was proud of taking the game deep. Their partnership of 57 came in only 28 balls.
Shaik Rasheed’s skills were never in doubt. He is a former Under-19 World Cup-winning vice-captain, has a Syed Mushtaq Ali century and a double ton in first-class cricket. It’s for those reasons CSK have kept a close eye on him since IPL 2023.
With Devon Conway not among the runs, CSK gave Rasheed an IPL debut and he took strike to start the chase. By the second over, he had pumped three fours off Akash Deep, with one flick over midwicket described on the broadcast as “Virat Kohli-like.”
His 19-ball 27 with six fours helped CSK reach fifty in only 4.2 overs, and alongside Rachin Ravindra’s 22-ball 37, gave them a rare successful opening stand. Those runs proved crucial as a collapse against spin soon followed.
With a strike-rate of 80 and a high score of 21 this season, Pant needed to get going. He walked-in in the fourth over with Markram and Nicholas Pooran out to Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj cheaply.
He started on a positive note, improvising a reverse lap over third man early for six along with a handful of contorted pulls and cuts. But his strike-rate of 165 plummeted to 103 when CSK’s spinners applied the squeeze. Pant saw wickets fall from the other end, and ended up playing ten dots in 15 balls against Noor, scoring only six runs. His strike rate of 40 against the purple-cap holder ended up being the second worst for any batter against a bowler in IPL (minimum15 balls).
However, from 40 in 39 balls, Pant found his touch against the pace-on options of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel to turn his innings around. He couldn’t stay till the end, though, and the CSK spinners’ effort ensured LSG could make only 166 on a day where their second-highest individual score was Mitchell Marsh’s 30.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 in 19.3 overs (Shaik Rasheed 27, Rachin Ravindra 37, Shivam Dube 43*, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 26*; Digvesh Rathi 1-23, Avesh Khan 1-32, Ravi Bishnoi 2-18, Aiden Markram 1-25) beatLucknow Super Giants 166 for 7 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 30, Rishabh Pant 63, Ayush Badoni 22, Abdul Samad 20; Khaleel Ahmed 1-38, Anshul Kamboj 1-20, Ravindra Jadeja 2-24, Matheesha Pathirana 2-45) by five wickets
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya in her message for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, called upon all Sri Lankans to commit themselves to move forward with dedication, trust, and resilience to achieve success and progress in the coming year.
The full text of the prime minister’s message
“Let us step into the New Year with renewed hope and a vision, as we continue to work together toward “a prosperous country and a beautiful life.”
I extend my heartfelt wishes to the Sinhala and Tamil people of Sri Lanka, who celebrate the New Year in unity and generosity.
This New Year dawns at a moment when a new change is essential in every aspect of our lives. This traditional festivity reminds us to bring about positive change that is deep rooted in our culture and values, and move forward together in unity.
In recent years, the economic crisis made even the thought of celebrating the New Year a painful experience for many. However, the courageous efforts of the people to break free from a cycle of corruption and fraud, has led the path for the emergence of a new beginning.
Thus, the 2025 New Year marks a significant turning point. It is a year where communities from the North, South, East, and West unite and continue to work together under democratic principles to build a better future. In the upcoming month of May, the people’s aspirations will once again bear fruit.
At this moment when a new chapter begins with the New Year, I urge every citizen to act with respect, peace, and compassion in community. Let us commit ourselves to move forward with dedication, trust, and resilience to achieve success and progress in the coming year.
To all Sri Lankans celebrating Sinhala and Tamil New Year, I wish the nation is blessed with the strength, unity, and new energy needed for meaningful transformation and a prosperous tomorrow.
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!”
In his message for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake called upon all Sri Lankans to collectively work towards a common purpose, supporting the government’s vision for economic, social and political transformation.
The full text of the President’s Sinhala and Tamil New Year message –
“As we celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year this year, a festival that symbolises the hope of both physical and spiritual renewal, our nation finds itself at a defining moment, achieving significant victories while resolutely striving towards the realisation of a better and more prosperous future.
It is with profound joy and gratitude that I reflect upon the efforts undertaken by the National People’s Power government over the past months to lift our nation from adversity and steer it towards economic, social and political advancement. The successes we have thus far achieved rightfully belong to the people of this country, whose steadfast trust, as expressed in the most recent Presidential and General Elections, has been the driving force behind this transformative journey.
As a responsible government, we possess the strength and determination to further deepen our commitment to the nation, even amidst formidable challenges. We are implementing well-considered plans to address the multifaceted challenges confronting our country, both in terms of national development and within the broader geopolitical landscape.
The Sinhala and Tamil New Year traditions beautifully reflect the harmony between humanity and nature, bearing witness to the deep-rooted history of coexistence between our Sinhala and Tamil communities. While contemporary society may be burdened by various divisions, occasions such as the New Year provide a timely reminder of the enduring values of unity, harmony and peaceful coexistence. It is our solemn responsibility, particularly at this time of renewal, to nurture those values within ourselves and to foster a more compassionate and ethical society.
Moreover, the rituals associated with the sun’s transition are underpinned by the universal aspiration to create a renewed individual, one free from outdated thoughts and attitudes. The New Year, therefore, offers us an invaluable opportunity to embrace renewal in our own lives.
As we welcome this New Year, I call upon all of you to come together with renewed strength, unity and goodwill. Let us collectively work towards a common purpose, supporting the government’s vision for economic, social and political transformation and thereby ensuring enduring progress and prosperity for our country and all its people.
May this New Year bring you and your loved ones peace, happiness, renewed hope and abundant prosperity in your journey towards ‘A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life”.
Warmest wishes for a Happy Sinhala and Tamil New Year! “
