Sports

Chasing the Elusive IPL Crown: PBKS Kicks Off Campaign Against Gujarat Titans

Published

1 year ago

March 25, 2025

In search of their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title, the Punjab Kings, often labeled as the tournament’s underachievers, are set to launch the 18th season with a new leadership pairing: captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting. Their campaign begins with an away match against the 2022 champions, Gujarat Giants, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Iyer, who recently led the Kolkata Knight Riders to a championship in the 2024 season and guided the Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020, will aim to transform the fortunes of PBKS, who finished last season in a disappointing 9th place. Notably, Punjab has struggled to secure a top-five finish in the past four seasons.

—

Punjab’s best performance came a decade ago when they were runners-up in 2014 and reached the semifinals in 2018. As they enter the 2025 season, the franchise is hopeful that the partnership of Iyer and Ponting will finally break the jinx.

—

On the flip side, the Titans, previous winners in their debut season, finished as runners-up in 2023 but dropped to an 8th place finish under new captain Shubman Gill in the 2024 season. They will be looking to start anew this season.

Both Iyer and Gill have been in stellar form with the bat, greatly contributing to India’s ICC Champions Trophy success. Iyer emerged as the top run-scorer with 243 runs, while Gill made a mark with a century against Bangladesh.

As the PBKS retained only two uncapped Indian players—Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh—before the season, they made significant investments at the mega auction last November, shelling out an impressive Rs 26.75 crore for Iyer and acquiring Arshdeep Singh back via the Right-to-Match option, alongside key players like leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.

Iyer will lead from the front with the support of key players like Josh Inglis and Prabhsimran at the top of the order, as well as Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis bolstering the middle order. Arshdeep, alongside Lockie Ferguson and Yuzvendra Chahal, will lead the bowling attack.

The home side has assembled a formidable lineup, expecting Gill and Jos Buttler to open the batting, with a robust middle order featuring Sherfane Rutherford, Sai Sudharsan, and M Shahrukh Khan. The all-round abilities of Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, and Mahipal Lomror add depth to their squad.

The Titans’ bowling unit is also impressive, featuring Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Gerald Coetzee, and Ishant Sharma in the pace department, alongside Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore as the primary spinners.

As both teams prepare to set the season’s tone, the match promises to be an exciting fixture with the unpredictable pitch conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium adding to the intrigue.

Squads:

Gujarat Giants: Shubman Gill (c), Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Sherfane Rutherford, Sai Sudharsan, M Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Phillips, Nishant Sindhu, Manav Suthar, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Gurnoor Brar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav.

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur.

—

Sports

Tim David Faces Criticism for Obscene Celebration against Mumbai Indians

Published

6 days ago

May 11, 2026

Namma Kudla

IPL 2026 : In a dramatic IPL 2026 clash, Royal Challengers Bengaluru player Tim David has landed in controversy for allegedly making an obscene gesture after his team’s thrilling win against Mumbai Indians.

The incident took place during the 54th match of the Indian Premier League in Raipur. Batting first, Mumbai Indians scored 167 runs in 20 overs and set a competitive target for RCB.

While chasing the target, Royal Challengers Bengaluru needed 15 runs in the final over. The match went down to the last ball, where RCB required two runs for victory. Rasikh Dar helped the team secure a thrilling win in the final delivery.

Soon after the victory, Tim David, who was in the dugout, was seen allegedly showing his middle finger towards the Mumbai Indians camp during the celebrations. The video of the incident quickly went viral on social media and triggered criticism from cricket fans.

Reports suggest that match officials could take disciplinary action against the Australian batter. Under the ICC Code of Conduct, obscene or offensive gestures are considered a serious offence.

Such behaviour usually falls under Level 1 or Level 2 breaches of the ICC rules. Players found guilty can face fines ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent of their match fees. Demerit points may also be added to their disciplinary record. Repeated offences can even lead to suspension from matches.

Similar incidents have happened in the past as well. In 2012, Virat Kohli was fined 50 percent of his match fee for showing the middle finger to spectators during a match in Sydney.

Cricket is widely known as a “gentleman’s game,” and players are expected to maintain discipline and respect on the field. Tim David’s celebration has now sparked debate among fans and experts about sportsmanship in modern cricket.

Sports

Pooran Super over Call Sparks Criticism

Published

3 weeks ago

April 27, 2026

Namma Kudla

Sports: Lucknow Super Giants’ captain Rishabh Pant faced criticism after a failed Super Over decision against Kolkata Knight Riders. LSG sent Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram to bat, with Pooran on strike against Sunil Narine.

Pooran was bowled on the first ball, leading to heavy criticism from fans. Many questioned the decision, especially because Narine had earlier troubled Pooran in a past Super Over.

LSG coach Justin Langer defended the move. He said the team trusted Pooran as he has faced Narine many times and has a strong record against him. He added that teams must back their best players even in difficult moments.

Langer also said Pooran is one of the best T20 players in recent years but is currently low on confidence. He assured that the team is working hard to help him regain form

Despite being at the bottom of the table, LSG remains hopeful. Langer said the team will use the break to improve and aim to win their remaining matches.

Sports

King Kohli Creates Two Records in One Match

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2026

Namma Kudla

Bengaluru: Virat Kohli made history in a match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against Gujarat Titans. He achieved two big records in a single game.

Kohli became the first player in Indian Premier League history to hit 800 boundaries. He now has 807 fours. Shikhar Dhawan is second with 768, followed by David Warner and Rohit Sharma.

He also became the third player to hit 300 sixes in IPL. He reached this mark with his first six in the match. Chris Gayle leads with 357 sixes, while Rohit Sharma has 310.