A sprightly Mumbai Indians continued their ascent in IPL 2025 with a four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a one-sided contest on a tricky wicket in Mumbai on Thursday.

Led by Will Jacks who played a decisive role with a fine 36 (26 balls) after a crucial spell of 2/14, Mumbai Indians executed an all-round show to record their second consecutive win.

The home side came on top for having assessed the Wankhede Stadium pitch accurately and adapting quickly to the conditions it presented, with each of the pieces falling in place for the five-time winners.

MI’s fast bowlers used the short and slower balls well throughout the first innings and nailed their yorkers perfectly. In the run chase, the MI batters showed a clear plan to keep finding the boundaries which kept them on top.

Chasing 163 on a pitch which had grip and turn, MI were also benefited by SRH’s reluctance to bring on spin in the powerplay, as the home side made 166/6 in 18.1 overs to record their third win of the season.

Even though Rohit Sharma endured another failure after a promising start in which he made 26 off 16 balls with three sixes, he gave MI the momentum with the bat and the others capitalised on it.

Opener Ryan Rickelton made a fluent 31 while Suryakumar Yadav hammered two sixes and as many fours to make 26 (off 15 balls) to provide a strong support to Jacks.

Captain Hardik Pandya played a crucial cameo of 21 off just nine balls to take MI to the threshold of victory. Tilak Varma (21 not out) then took MI over the line after a late minor hiccup as the home side reached 166 for 6 in 18.1 overs.

In the first half, Sunrisers Hyderabad found late momentum with the bat to fight their way through and post 162 for 5.

With the surface at the Wankhede Stadium providing grip and turn for the spinners and slower deliveries giving dividends to the pace bowlers, Sunrisers Hyderabad batters struggled to adapt to the wicket for most part of the innings.

But a big finish — 57 runs coming off the last five overs — gave SRH some much-needed impetus towards the end.

MI bowlers were spot-on in formulating their plans and near-perfect in their execution with Jasprit Bumrah delivering a measly 4-0-21-1, Trent Boult nailing his yorkers again to return 4-0-29-1 and Will Jacks producing an impressive 3-0-14-2.

The SRH struggle was evident from the start even as Abhishek Sharma stroked his way to 40 off 28 balls with seven boundaries.

It all started with an eventful first over when the two SRH openers got a reprieve each off Deepak Chahar.

Abhishek went down the wicket, swinging his bat on the first delivery. The ball shaped away slightly to take the edge but Jacks failed to get hold of it.

On the fourth delivery, Travis Head played one straight to Karn Sharma at midwicket where he failed to pluck a low catch as the ball fell just short of him.

Abhishek looked to be hitting his strides when he smacked three fours off Chahar in the fifth over but there was just no momentum gained.

Raj Angad Bawa timed his dive to grab the ball to dismiss Abhishek off Pandya for the first breakthrough and by then it was evident that SRH would have to scrape their way through to a competitive total.

Jacks then had former MI player Ishan Kishan stumped for a mere two.

Head was unable to open up even as he tried his best to cut loose. Despite having caught off a no-ball with Pandya overstepping, Head failed to capitalise as he fell for an ordinary 29-ball 28.

Such was the impact of MI’s control that the first six of the game came as late as in the 18th over — the best one of SRH’s innings — when Heinrich Klaasen (37 off 28 balls, 3x4s, 2x6s) took 21 runs to spoil Chahar’s figures (4-0-47-0).

In the final over, Aniket Verma hit a couple of sixes and Pat Cummins smacked one to take vital 22 runs off Pandya.

Mitchell Starc bowled couple of incredible overs under pressure as Delhi Capitals pulled off a heist by stealing a thrilling Super Over win from Rajasthan Royals in their IPL showdown in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The ice-cold Starc (1/36 in 4 overs) held his nerve during a tense final over to defend nine runs as DC forced the game into a Super Over when it seemed Royals had all but won it.

The Australian left-arm pacer then bowled a tremendous Super Over, conceding just two boundaries. He was backed by two razor-sharp run-outs as RR managed only 11 runs.

KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs then kept their nerves in check slamming a four and a six respectively to take the hosts to their first win at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Chasing 189, Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 off 37) and ‘local lad’ Nitish Rana (51 off 28) had the Royals cruising, but DC’s bowlers turned the tide with a roaring late surge, eventually tying the game at 188/4.

The late drama followed a solid batting effort by DC, built on Abishek Porel’s composed 49 and explosive cameos from skipper Axar Patel (34 off 14) and Tristan Stubbs (34 not out off 18), lifting them to a competitive 188/5 after being asked to bat.

Desperate for a win to reignite their campaign, Jaiswal came out all guns blazing as he clobbered two sixes off Mukesh Kumar before dismantling Mitchell Starc with two boundaries and a towering maximum, making his intent clear.

Sanju Samson joined the party even as Ashutosh Sharma spilled a regulation catch. The Royals’ captain eventually retired hurt, after pulling his side.

With the chase humming along, Axar wicketless all season, broke the drought with a ripper that outfoxed Riyan Parag.

Jaiswal, however, looked invincible until Axar turned once more to his trusted match-winner Kuldeep Yadav (1/33 in 4 overs). The move worked. Delhi’s standout wrist-spinner struck gold, removing the set Jaiswal.

But Rana was in no mood to let up. The southpaw batted with precision, sending anything in his arc to the fence with ease.

His calculated aggression and clean ball-striking kept Royals firmly on course. But once Rana was trapped led before by Starc the script changed.

Abishek Porel’s composed 49 was complemented by skipper Axar Patel’s explosive cameo as Delhi Capitals posted a mammoth 188/5 against Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash in New Delhi on Wednesday.

If Porel and KL Rahul (38) laid a solid foundation with a 63-run stand, Axar’s blistering 13-ball 34, along with Tristan Stubbs’s (34 no off 18 balls) late surge, provided the final flourish in an innings where momentum swung like a pendulum between the two sides.

The surface at the Feroz Shah Kotla wasn’t the easiest to bat on, offering grip and turn for the spinners.

Sandeep Sharma (0/33) bowled beautifully through his spell, though he lost his rhythm in the final over, leaking four wides and a no-ball.

The pitch wasn’t the easiest to bat on as it provided some grip and turn and Sandeep bowled beautifully, taking pace off his deliveries, barring the last over where he leaked 19 runs.

Delhi Capitals got off to a fiery start, with Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) cracking back-to-back boundaries off Jofra Archer (2/32) to set the tone.

Young Porel lit up the Feroz Shah Kotla early on, taking the second over by storm. He tore into Tushar Deshpande, smashing 23 runs, including four elegant boundaries.

But the highlight was a sublime flick over deep backward square for a maximum that had the crowd roaring.

However, DC’s momentum faltered as Fraser-McGurk’s lean patch persisted. The Australian lofted a simple catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-off in the fourth over, gifting Rajasthan Royals a breakthrough.

Run outs came back to haunt Delhi again as a mix-up between Porel and the in-form Karun Nair (0) resulted in the latter’s dismissal, abruptly halting the Capitals’ early charge.

The Royals’ bowlers tightened the noose during the middle overs, drying up the boundaries and building persistent pressure.

Yet, Porel found a steady ally in seasoned Rahul. The veteran batter brought a sense of calm amid storm, easing the pressure with two towering sixes—one launched down the ground off Deshpande in the 7th, and another elegantly lifted over long-off against Mahesh Theekshana in the 11th.

Just when the hosts looked like having rebuild their innings, Archer was brought back skipper Sanju Samson. And the English pacer struck gold, dismissing Rahul with back of length delivery that found Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket.

The West Indian held on to a low catch, inches above the ground, swinging the momentum back in Rajasthan’s favour.

Just when the hosts looked like having rebuild their innings, Archer was brought back skipper Sanju Samson. And the English pacer struck gold, dismissing Rahul with back of length delivery that found Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket.

The West Indian held on to a low catch, inches above the ground, swinging the momentum back in Rajasthan’s favour.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) defended the lowest-ever total in Indian Premier League (IPL) history as they beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 16 runs in a thrilling match in Mullanpur on Tuesday.

Chasing 112 for a win, KKR were comfortably placed at 71 for 3 in 9.1 overs, but they suffered a sensational collapse to be bowled out for 95 in 15.1 overs.

KKR lost seven wickets and scored just 24 runs in six overs after that.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was the main architect of Punjab’s improbable-looking win with his excellent figures of 4/28. He took the crucial wickets of Ajinkya Rahane (17), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (37), Rinku Singh (2) and Ramandeep Singh (0) to orchestrate KKR’s stunning downfall — the last two in consecutive balls in the 12th over.

Pacer Marco Jansen chipped in with three wickets for 17 runs while Xavier Bartlett, Glenn Maxwell and Arshdeep Singh got one each as KKR allowed PBKS to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.

The earlier lowest total defended was 116 by Chennai Super Kings against then Kings XI Punjab in 2009.

Sunil Narine (5) was looking for his characteristic explosive start but Jansen had other ideas as he was cleaned up by the South African.

That was the start Punjab were looking for and it got even better as Xavier Bartlett got the other opener Quinton de Kock (2) in the next over.

KKR captain Rahane held the innings together for a while along with Raghuvanshi, digging into his vast domestic and international experience.

Rahane was at his best when he lofted a Bartlett half-volley for a straight six into the sightscreen, taking his side to 55 for 2 at the end of powerplay.

The introduction of Chahal in the eighth over did the trick for PBKS as the leg-spinner got Rahane out LBW.

Chahal struck again in his next over to give PBSK some hope. He had Raghuvanshi caught at backward point by Bartlett who leaned forward to take a low catch. KKR were 72 for 4 at the halfway stage.

The match seemed to have opened up when Venkatesh Iyer was ruled out LBW off Maxwell in the 11th over, with the third umpire upholding the on-field umpire’s decision after a long look.

Chahal then turned the match on its head as he removed the dangerous Rinku Singh (2) who was foxed by a delivery that sneaked between his bat and pad for Inglis to do the rest behind the stumps.

There was no stopping Chahal as he dismissed Ramandeep Singh (0) in the next ball to leave KKR at a precarious 76 for 7 in 11.4 overs.

Jansen joined the party as he got Harshit Rana (0) out with a short delivery that the batter played on.

Andre Russell has not scored in double-digit figures before Tuesday’s match and he was on fire in the 14th over, hitting two sixes and a four to take 16 runs in total.

KKR needed 17 runs from six overs but they had just two wickets in hand.

Vaibhav Arora survived five balls bowled by Arshdeep Singh but he offered a simple catch to Inglis in the final ball of the 15th over.

Earlier, KKR dished out a clinical bowling show to bundle out Punjab for a mere 111 — the third lowest total in the ongoing IPL.

PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer’s ploy to bat first after winning the toss at their home ground backfired as all their batters, except openers Priyansh Arya (22) and Prabhsimran Singh (30) struggled on the home pitch.

Only three more batters — Nehal Wadhera (10), Shashank Singh (18) and Xavier Bartlett (11) — could register double-digit scores.

Some PBKS batters were also guilty of reckless batting and poor shot selection.

Harshit Rana (3/25) was the most successful bowler while Varun Chakaravarthy (2/21) and Sunil Narine (2/14) chipped in with two apiece.

Arya (22 off 12 balls), who hit a sensational hundred to win PBKs’ match against Chennai Super Kings, struck two fours off Anrich Nortje in the second over to set the tone of the home side’s innings.

Prabhsimran then struck a six and two fours in the next over bowled by Vaibhav Arora, who conceded 20 runs.

Rana was welcomed by Arya with a six but the bowler had the last laugh as the batter holed out to Ramandeep Singh.

In-form PBKS captain Iyer was dismissed first ball with Ramandeep taking a stunning catch.

Ramandeep ran a few yards and made a full length head-first dive and grabbed the ball inches above the turf.

Punjab’s shoddy batting show continued as Josh Inglis (2) was bowled by Chakaravarthy as the home side were three wickets down in the fifth over.

Prabhsimran, however, was not affected by the fall of wickets as he smacked Rana for two consecutive sixes in the sixth over. But he got out two balls later to become Rana’s third victim of the day.

Ramandeep also grabbed his third catch of the day, all of them off the bowling of Rana, as the duo made a perfect pair.

With 54 for 4 at the end of powerplay, Punjab were clearly in trouble.