Less than a week into the new IPL season and things are already looking ominous for the bowlers.
In fact, Kagiso Rabada has already had enough – he thinks cricket might need to be renamed as ‘batting’ instead.
He’s got a point when you look at the stats – 119 sixes were hit in the first five games, that’s a massive 32 more than in the first five in 2024.
Six out of the first 10 totals have been over 200, and teams are averaging over 11 an over in the powerplay bowling with the new ball or at the death.
At the moment bowling seems to be a mug’s game. No one knows this more than Jofra Archer
Four, six, wide, wide, six! Archer’s IPL struggles continued against Kolkata with a nightmare final five balls
He was brought back to Rajasthan Royals as their great new hope with the ball – and rightly so given how he carried the their attack for the three seasons he was there previously – but his second debut for them couldn’t have gone any worse.
The rampant Sunrisers batters plundered his four overs for a staggering 76 runs, the most expensive bowling figures in IPL history.
Mohit Sharma will be happy, at least – he now no longer holds an unwanted record after he went for 73 against Delhi Capitals last year.
Jofra’s second match didn’t go that much better, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about him just yet – once he gets to bowl on some friendlier surfaces and finds his rhythm, he will be a totally different proposition. Never has the phrase ‘the only way is up from here’ been truer.
Solid start for other England players
While we are on England player watch, it’s been a solid start for most.
Phil Salt’s aggressive half century on his Royal Challengers Bengaluru debut confirmed that he could potentially be one of the signings of the season.
Highlights of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL opener as Phil Salt and Virat Kohli starred
Jos Buttler also looked in good nick in his debut innings for Gujarat Titans, albeit in a losing cause. Another impressive IPL season could be just what the doctor ordered for Jos after a tough final few months as England captain, where he looked drained.
He should enjoy being back in the ranks and away from the international cricket spotlight, but Gujarat need him to fire – their batting line-up looks very reliant on the top three.
And how about Moeen Ali? When he got picked up late in the auction by Kolkata Knight Riders you wondered how much game time he would get, but lo and behold, with Sunil Narine feeling ill, the old English warhorse got his chance against Rajasthan.
And he bowled brilliantly, getting Yashavi Jaiswal and then ripping one past Nitish Rana’s outside edge. Watching it, one couldn’t help but think that England could’ve got another year out of him – Buttler, I bet, would’ve loved to have had him at the Champions Trophy.
Highlights of Punjab Kings’ win over Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League
Delhi and Lucknow serve up a cracker
The game of the tournament award so goes to Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giants.
Chasing 210, Delhi lost four wickets in the powerplay and were six down needing another 97 off 45 balls, with all their batting big guns back in the dugout. Game over, right? Not these days.
A stunning cameo from a 20-year-old leg spinner playing in his first IPL match – Vipraj Nigam – and an even better finishing job from Ashutosh Sharma saw the Capitals rise from the dead to win the match by one wicket with three balls left.
We will surely get a few more thrillers over the next two months, and, who knows, maybe even the first score over 300. That is the IPL holy grail right now, and you can expect to hear a lot more chat about it until it’s found.
Watch every match from the 2025 IPL live on Sky Sports Cricket, up to and including the final on Sunday May 25.
