HYDERABAD, India: Ishan Kishan scored 106 not out off 47 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs in their season-opening encounter in the 2025 Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Kishan smacked 11 fours and six sixes in his first IPL hundred on debut for his new franchise, which notched up its second-highest total in tournament history.
Travis Head scored 67 off 31 balls as the Sunrisers picked up where they left off in 2024 to reach a mammoth 286-6 in 20 overs.
Hyderabad’s previous highest score was 287-3 — the highest IPL total — against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last season.
In the evening game, Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by four wickets with five balls remaining in a high-profile clash.
Afghanistan’s left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad took 4-18 in four overs for Chennai as Mumbai was restricted to 155-9 after losing the toss. Tilak Varma top-scored with 31 off 25 balls.
Rachin Ravindra’s unbeaten 65 off 45 balls, along with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s quick-fire 53 off 26, helped Chennai score 158-6 in 19.1 overs.
Royals fall short despite reaching 242-6
Rajasthan Royals fought well to post 242-6 (20 overs) in reply to Hyderabad’s huge target. Dhruv Jurel led with 70 off 35 balls, while Sanju Samson scored 66 off 37 balls.
Put into bat, Hyderabad ran away at the start with Head and Abhishek Sharma’s (24) explosive opening pairing putting on 45 off 19 balls.
Kishan found another gear as he reached 50 off 25 balls. Hyderabad, which bought him at the season’s auction earlier, found immediate returns as the young batter smacked his way to an attacking hundred on debut for his new franchise.
He put on 85 off 39 balls with Head, who also hit nine fours and three sixes. The latter fell just prior to the halfway mark.
Kishan – and Hyderabad – did not let up the scoring rate. He found able company in Nitish Reddy who hit 30 off 15 balls and Heinrich Klaasen, who added 34 off 14 balls.
Kishan’s next 50 came off 22 balls, as he raced to his century, helping Hyderabad to a statement total in its first outing.
Rough day for Rajasthan’s English pacer Jofra Archer
England pacer Jofra Archer finished with 0-76 from four overs – the most expensive spell in IPL history.
Rajasthan faltered early in its chase. Yashasvi Jaiswal was out caught for one, while Riyan Parag was dismissed for four — both in the second over. It became 50-3 as Nitish Rana was dismissed for 11.
Samson, coming in as an impact substitute, did start off the season in style. He scored 50 off 26 balls, and put on 111 off 60 balls with Jurel as Rajasthan fought back on a good batting surface.
Jurel reached 50 off 28 balls at the other end, hitting six sixes and five fours as the chase revolved around him. Adam Zampa dismissed him in the 15th over, while Samson was out caught in the previous over.
It was too tall an ask for Rajasthan thereafter to chase down the mammoth target successfully despite fruitful cameos from Shimron Hetmyer (42 off 23 balls) and Shubham Dubey (34 not out off 11 balls).
Mumbai’s spin woes in Chennai
Ahmad sprung into action after left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed took 3-29, including the dismissal of Rohit Sharma for a four-ball duck.
Spin did the trick on a slow Chepauk track as Mumbai never got into third gear in its opening game. It missed skipper Hardik Pandya, who was on the bench serving a slow over-rate suspension from 2024.
Stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav only managed 29 off 26 balls. Mumbai was down to 96-6 in 13 overs and then 118-7 in 16.1 overs.
Deepak Chahar, a former Chennai player making his Mumbai debut, scored 28 not out off 15 balls including two sixes to push the score past 150.
Chasing 156, Chennai was boosted by a 67-run partnership for the second wicket off only 37 balls between Gaikwad and Ravindra.
Gaikwad hit three sixes and six fours, reaching 50 off 22 balls. Mumbai struck back through 24-year-old left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur (3-32).
Chennai lost regular wickets to Puthur and Will Jacks but Ravindra helped his team reach the target in the 20th over.
Season-opening wins for Hyderabad and Chennai in IPL
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Season-opening wins for Hyderabad and Chennai in IPL
- Rough day for Rajasthan’s English pacer Jofra Archer
- Mumbai had spin woes in Chennai
Last-gasp strike keeps Al-Nassr top of SPL in Ronaldo’s absence
- Luis Maximiano denied Al-Nassr 9 times on nine occasions before Mohamed Simakan scored in stoppage time
- Al-Qadsiah still seek to mount unlikely title challenge after defeating Al-Kholood 4-1
DAMMAM: There was a sense of concern in the Al-Nassr camp this week. Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury was deemed more serious than initially believed by Jorge Jesus, prompting the Portuguese star to travel to Spain for treatment.
That meant that Al-Nassr’s pursuit of the title would be hindered by the absence of their leading scorer.
It was only last month, however, that Ronaldo missed two league games for Al-Nassr due to his dissatisfaction with the club’s performance during the winter transfer window. Al-Nassr won both games, but Ronaldo returned to silence his doubters, scoring four across their next five fixtures.
The reality is that after a mid-season blip, Jesus has revived the spirit within his squad. Al-Nassr came into their clash against Neom on a 10-game winning streak. It was the second time this season they had reached that mark, before Al-Ettifaq halted their run with a draw in late December.
This time, Al-Nassr were determined to break that 10-match ceiling. Standing in their way was a Neom side stuck in mid-table but talented enough to cause problems and playing with little pressure.
Replacing Ronaldo was Abdullah Al-Hamdan. After scoring the decisive goal against Arkadag in the AFC Champions League Two Round of 16 first leg — as well as the strike that sealed Al-Nassr’s victory against Al-Fayha last week — optimism around the former Al-Hilal forward was high.
Unfortunately for Al-Hamdan, he was brought back down to earth. Five attempts on goal — including a poor effort in the 63rd minute after what had been Al-Nassr’s clearest opportunity — summed up his evening. He was replaced moments later by Abdulrahman Ghareeb as Al-Nassr searched for new solutions to break down Christophe Galtier’s side.
Neom proved difficult to dismantle as a unit and even tougher in individual duels. Despite Al-Nassr focusing much of their attacking play down the left to exploit the space behind Mohammed Al-Burayk, the trio of Amadou Kone, Awn Al-Saluli and Nathan Zeze repeatedly shut them down.
Angelo Gabriel’s return to the starting line-up was a welcome sight for Al-Nassr supporters but although he posed a threat and showed flashes of creativity on the ball, the hosts were wasteful in front of goal. With 24 shots and nine saves by Luis Maximiano, it felt like a game where a draw would feel like defeat.
Joao Felix was by far Al-Nassr’s most influential attacking outlet. His subtle movement between the lines created passing options through Neom’s defensive block and he threatened Maximiano’s goal on several occasions occasion, though without success.
Most notably, two shots within the space of a minute saw Felix denied by the Portuguese goalkeeper. Al-Nassr threw numbers forward, practically stationed on the edge of the box, but he remained unbeatable.
The final 10 minutes saw the Neom goalkeeper kick into a different gear. In the 83rd minute, Angelo wriggled into the box and delivered a low cross to Sadio Mane, whose close-range effort was parried away. A minute later, Felix found himself on the edge of the six-yard box with a clear sight of goal, only for Maximiano to produce a stunning save with his shin.
In the final moments of the game, it seemed that Jorge Jesus and Al-Nassr had finally learned from their earlier frustrations and Al-Nassr finally found their way past Maximiano in stoppage time.
It was none other than Felix who created the breakthrough, delivering a dangerous cross from a free-kick, but it was not an attacker who applied the finish.
Mohamed Simakan rose above the Neom defense to power home the header at the death, sealing a 1-0 victory and securing the all-important three points to keep Al-Nassr’s advantage at the top of the table.
Elsewhere in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Qadsiah continue to keep the pressure on the top three, with a decisive 4-1 victory against Al-Kholood, which was due to be played on Thursday before Al-Qadsiah’s initial flight to Qassim. Mateo Retegui and Julian Quinones both scored a brace on the road to victory.
Meanwhile, Al-Okhdood suffered a damaging 5-0 defeat to Al-Fayha to remain deep in the relegation zone, while Al-Ettifaq and Al-Shabab shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at E’GO Stadium in Dammam.
With the conclusion of Matchday 25, the title race is set to intensify with nine match weeks remaining. Al-Nassr remain top on 64 points, with Al-Ahli in second on 62, Al-Hilal in third on 61 and Al-Qadsiah in fourth on 57.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Thursday, with the Eastern Province playing host to all title contenders. On Friday, Al-Qadsiah host Al-Ahli in Dammam before Saturday sees Al-Fateh welcome Al-Hilal and Al-Khaleej take on Al-Nassr.
