We put up a spirited performance but went down fighting against Punjab Kings in our opening match of the IPL 2025 season on Tuesday, March 25.

Despite Sai Kishore’s impressive three-wicket haul, the Kings posted 243/5 in their 20 overs, courtesy of captain Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 97. 

In reply, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler slammed scintillating fifties for us, however, it wasn’t enough as we fell short by just 11 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium. 

Rabada with the early breakthrough

Our debutant Kagiso Rabada got us off to a good start as he dismissed Kings’ wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh (5) in the fourth over. This was the second time Rabada has claimed Prabhsimran’s wicket in IPL.

PBKS opening batter Priyansh Arya and their newly appointed captain Shreyas Iyer then steadied the ship for the visitors. The duo stitched a 51-run stand for the second wicket.

Rashid completes 150 IPL wickets

Later in the seventh over, spin wizard Rashid Khan provided us with a much-needed breakthrough as he removed Priyansh Arya (47) to accomplish his milestone of 150 IPL wickets. With the crucial scalp, Rashid became the third-fastest to complete 150 wickets in the IPL.

Sai-Ki shines at NaMo Stadium

Our talented left-arm spinner Sai Kishore soon joined the party as he picked up the massive wickets of Azmatullah Omarzai (16) and Glenn Maxwell (0) in consecutive deliveries to reduce the Kings to 105/4 in the 11th over.

At the other end, opposition skipper Iyer played a counter-attacking knock to put our bowlers under pressure. 

Despite our best efforts, Iyer established a pivotal partnership with Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis that brought the Kings back into the game. 

Kishore later ended their 57-run stand in his final over as he got the better of Stoinis (20).

With the score reading 162/5, Shashank Singh joined Iyer at the crease in the 16th over. Shashank and Shreyas later added 81 runs in the final few overs to help PBKS post 243/5 in their 20 overs.

Captain Gill, Sai-Su light up the NaMo

Chasing a huge target, our opening pair of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan got us off to a flying start. Captain Gill and Sai-Su slammed the PBKS bowlers to all parts of the ground as we brought our fifty in the fifth over.

Our swashbuckling pair forged an impressive 61-run opening stand before Gill fell to Maxwell.

Sudharsan slams brilliant fifty

Our stylish southpaw Sudharsan continued his blitzkrieg knock as he notched up his seventh IPL fifty. Batting at No.3, our star wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler also played some scintillating shots which kept us in the hunt. 

We later suffered another blow as Sudharsan departed for 74 in the 13th over. His outstanding knock was laced with five fours and six maximums. 

Butter-Rutherford keep the momentum

Following Sudharsan’s dismissal, our Caribbean star Sherfane Rutherford came in to bat as an impact sub. Rutherford and Buttler continued the onslaught, which kept us in the game.

Meanwhile, Buttler slammed an excellent half-century on his debut for the Titans. He was dismissed for 54, which included four fours and two sixes.

Despite losing his partner, Rutherford fought till the very end as he hammered some eye-catching boundaries to inch us closer to the target.

With 27 needed off the final over, we lost Rahul Tewatia and Rutherford in quick succession and eventually fell short in our season opener. 

After a hard-fought encounter, our Titans will be looking to bounce back quickly against the Mumbai Indians in our upcoming IPL 2025 fixture at home on Saturday, March 29. The evening clash will start at 7:30 PM IST.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 243/5 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 97 not out, Priyansh Arya 47; Sai Kishore 3/30) beat Gujarat Titans 207/6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 74, Jos Buttler 54; Arshdeep Singh 2/36) by 11 runs.