IPL 2025 Updates: Match called off

Sat, 26 April 2025

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23:23

KKR, Punjab to share a point each

The match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata has been abandoned due to rain.

Both teams will share one point each.

This is the first match of IPL 2025 to be called off.

Chasing 202 for their fourth win of the season, KKR were 7 without loss in one over when rain, accompanied by strong gust of wind, interrupted the match.

Punjab would have wanted to have a full match after putting a formidable 201-4 on the board.

KKR, on the other hand, did well to pull things back at the back end as Punjab were well on course for a 230-plus total.

However, Punjab will be happy with a point as they look to secure their first playoff berth since 2014.

22:49

Covers remain firmly in place

It is still raining steadily here in Kolkata. We can confirm that overs will be deducted.

The covers are still on and the players remain in the dugout.

The entire ground is under covers as the strong gust of wind continues to blow across the field.

The chasing team need to play at least five overs for a result.

In case the match washes out, the teams will get a point each.

The cut of time for a reduced match is 10:35 pm IST.

21:39

KKR off to a watchful start

KKR 7-0 (1 ovs) vs PBKS 201-4 | Scorecard

The chase is on. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine to open for KKR.

Marco Jansen with the ball for Punjab. Gurbaz is on strike. Jansen starts off with a wide outside off.

Another dot and then Gurbaz gets off the mark with a nudge to square leg for a single.

Narine is strike and he leaves a rising delivery on off. No run.

He then opens his account with a boundary through deep mid-wicket. Great hand-eye coordination.

Narine then swings and misses and the ball hits his thigh pad and rolls to cover region. Leg byes.

A dot to end the over. 7 come off it.

21:15

Arya, Prabhsimran fifties power Punjab past 200

PBKS 201-4 (20 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Russell to bowl the final over of the innings. Inglis is on strike and he drives the full delivery to extra-cover for a single.

Three more singles follow. Just four runs of the first four balls. Great effort so far by Russell.

Four! Full delivery on legs and Inglis flicks it through backward square leg.

Slow ball full toss and Inglis swings and misses. A dot to end the final over. Just 8 come off it. Punjab finish on 201-4.

21:10

Jansen departs cheaply

PBKS 193-4 (19 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Russell continues. Shreyas flicks the low full toss to deep mid-wicket for a single.

Jansen then digs out another low full toss and scampers for a quick single.

Dropped! Shreyas gets a life, dropped by Vaibhav at deep backward square-leg. Shreyas throws his hands at a lower full toss and the ball goes straight to Vaibhav and he puts in a dive and gets hands to it, but could not hold onto the chance. Shreyas picks a single.

A dot and a single followed by a huge sixer! A slow off-cutter from Russel and Shreyas rocks back and pulls it over long-on.

10 come off the over.

Vaibhav with his third over. Two dots and a wicket!

Jansen is out caught by Venkatesh Iyer, Jansen attempts to loft a slower leg-cutter outside off but could not get the elevation and is caught at long-on.

He goes after making 3 off 7.

Josh Inglis comes to the crease. Opens his account with a cracking boundary through third man.

Follows it up with single to cover.

Shreyas ends the over with a boundary through deep extra cover.

9 come off the over.

21:00

Varun castles Maxwell

PBKS 174-3 (17 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Narine with his final over. Starts off with a dot.

Maxwell then punches one to long-on for a single.

Shreyas is one strike and he carves the full delivery to the vacant midwicket region for a brace.

Three singles to end the over. Just six off the over. Narine finishes his quota with figures 0-35 in four overs.

Varun with his final over. Shreyas is on strike. A dot ball and then he cuts the leg-break through extra-cover for a single.

A single followed by a boundary. Maxwell reverse-sweeps one to deep backward point fence.

Out! Varun cleans up Maxwell, Punjab lose their third. A flat delivery and Maxwell makes room to cut but misses it completely as the ball knocks down his off stump.

He goes after making 7 off 8 balls.

Marco Jansen comes to the crease. Gets off the mark with a quick single through deep backward point.

Another single to end the over. 7 come off it.

20:48

Prabhsimran departs after a blistering knock

PBKS 161-2 (15 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Vaibhav Arora back into the attack. Two singles off the first two balls.

Out! KKR heave a huge sigh of relief. Prabhsimran is out caught by Powell. A low full-toss outside off and the batter lofts it but could not get the connection and picks out Powell at long-off.

He goes after blasting 49-ball 83.

Glenn Maxwell is the new man in. Plays out two dot balls before opening his account with a nudge to mid-on for single.

Just three runs off the over.

20:44

Prabhsimran switches on attacking mode

PBKS 158-1 (14 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Sakariya is back into the attack. Shreyas picks a single through short third man.

Prabhsimran is on strike. Back-to-back fours! Both through third man. Brings up his fifty.

Sixer! Shortish delivery and Prabhsimran waits for it before smoking it over deep square leg.

Follows it up with a single to long-off. A brace through third man to end the over. 18 come off it.

Varun with his third over. Boundary! He is dropped by Harshit Rana at long-on.

A dot followed by four, six and four! Varun is feeling the heat here as Prabhsimran goes on a beast mode. 19 off the over.

20:34

Russell sends back Priyansh

PBKS 121-1 (12 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Narine continues. Sixer! Priyansh steps down and belts the length delivery over long-on.

He then survives and lbw appeal and review show the ball had brushed his gloves before hitting the pads. The batter picks a single.

Sixer! Prabhsimran switch-hits one over deep extra cover.

A single and a dot. No ball as Narine oversteps.

A huge six to end the over. Full delivery outside off and Prabhsimran launches it over long-off. The partnership is now 112.

22 come off the over.

Andre Russell into the attack. Starts with a dot and two singles.

Six! Priyansh is dealing in sixes! He opens the writs and smokes it over deep extra cover.

Out! Finally the breakthrough for KKR. Priyansh is out caught by Vaibhav Arora.

He departs after a stroke-filled 69 off 35 balls studded with eight fours and four sixes.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer comes to the crease. He gets off the mark with a mistimed hit to long-off for a single. 9 off the over.

20:20

Priyansh brings up his fifty

PBKS 90-0 (10 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Narine continues. Prabhsimran clips the tossed up delivery through mid-wicket for a single.

Two dots. And Priyansh slog sweeps the full delivery to deep mid-wicket but skies it. Sakarayia puts in a dive but could not reach to the ball. 1 run.

A dot and a single to end the over. Just 3 come off Narine's second over.

Harshit Rana is back into the attack. Pace-off delivery and Prabhsimran swings and gets an inside edge. No run.

He then gets off the strike by guiding a full toss to extra cover for a single.\

Boundary! Slow, length delivery outside off and Priyansh chips it over the infield for four runs.

Sixer! Priyansh waits for the slow delivery and opens the bat face before slicing it over third man,

Follows it up with a boundary through fine leg. 50 up for Priyansh off just 27 deliveries.

A single to backward point to end the over. 16 come off it.

20:08

KKR desperate for a breakthrough

PBKS 71-0 (8 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Sunil Narine comes in as KKR look for a breakthrough.

Priyansh steers one to mid-wicket for a single.

Prabhsimran is on strike and he picks a single through fine leg.

Two dot balls and two singles to end Narine's first over. 4 come off it.

Varun with his second over and Prabhsimran cut it to off-side for a single.

Sixer! No stopping Priyansh! Tossed up delivery and the batter smokes it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum.

Follows it up with a square cut for a single.

A dot and a brace by swiping the shortish delivery to deep backward square leg.

Ends the over with a single to cover point. 11 come off Varun's second over.

20:00

Fifty up for Punjab

PBKS 56-0 (6 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Harshit Rana into the attack. Prabhsimran greets him with a boundary through third man.

A dot and a sixer! Length delivery and Prabhsimran scoops it over fine leg. Fifty up for Punjab in 4.3 overs.

A single to point and two dots. 11 off the over.

Varun Chakaravarthy into the attack. Prabhsimran nudges one to backward square leg for a single.

Priyansh is on strike and he plays out two dot balls.

He then gets off the strike with a single to deep square leg.

Two dots to end the over. Just two come off Varun's first over.

19:52

Punjab up the ante

PBKS 43-0 (4 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Vaibhav Arora continues. Prabhsimran comes down and drives it to long-on for a single.

Priyansh then slices the full delivery to deep point for a single.

A single followed by a boundary! Priyansh drives the full toss through covers for four runs. Poor delivery

A side down the leg side and a dot ball.

Another boundary, fourth so far by Priyansh. Fuller delivery outside off and Priyansh chips it over extra cover.

12 come off the over.

Sakariya is back with his second over. Prabhsimran punches one to covers and picks a single.

Boundary! A bit overpitched and Priyansh steers it towards wide mid-on.

A single to cover point followed by a dot ball.

Sixer! The first maximum of the innings. Prabhsimran dances down the pitch and lofts the smokes one over long off, holding his shape.

A single and Priyansh finishes the over with an elegant boundary through deep mid-wicket.

18 come off it.

19:41

Punjab off to a sedate start

PBKS 13-0 (2 ovs) vs KKR | Scorecard

Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh to open the innings for PBKS.

Vaibhav Arora with the ball for KKR.

Priyansh is on strike. And he opens his account with a boundary.

Overpitched delivery and the batters caresses it through along the ground into the ropes.

Follows it up with a single through backward point.

Prabhsimran is on strike. After two dots a single to mid-wicket.

Four more! Priyansh drills the fullish delivery through covers to finish the over on a high.

10 come off it.

Chetan Sakariya comes into the attack. Prabhsimran is on strike. Starts with two dots and then the batters rotate the strike with two easy singles.

Another dot and a single to square leg to end the over. Top over, just 3 come off it.

19:19

Both sides make two changes

Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and he has decided to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Both teams have made two changes. For Punjab, Glenn Maxwell and Azmatullah Omarzai return to the Playing XI.

For KKR, Rovmnan Powell comes in for Moeen Ali and Chetan Sakariya replaces Ramandeep Singh.

Shreyas said, "We are batting first. Since we are playing on the same wicket they played on. Can see a few cracks, will get an idea on how its playing."

KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane, "We've been playing good cricket, but in patches. We need to chase down whatever the target is. Our bowers have been bowling really well."

Take a look at the Playing XIs:

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Josh Inglis (Wicketkeeer), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Impact Subs: Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicketkeeper), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Impact Subs: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anrich Nortje, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy.

18:54

Punjab look to boost playoff chances

Welcome to the coverage of the Indian Premier League 2025 match No. 44 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

The encounter will mark the return of PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer to the Eden Gardens, having guided KKR to their third IPL title less than a year ago.

KKR retained six players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, and Iyer was not one of them.

Punjab splurged a staggering Rs 26.75 crore (Rs 267.5 million) to acquire the Team India star at the auction, making him the second-most expensive player in IPL history, behind Rishabh Pant who was bought for Rs 27 crore (Rs 270 million) by Lucknow Super Giants.

The move reunited the 30-year-old batter with his old Delhi Capitals mentor Ricky Ponting, and he has been a revelation for them, starting the new season with unbeaten knocks of 97 and 52.

His form, however, dipped over the last few games, scoring single digit scores in Punjabs last three outings. On Saturday against his former team, Shreyas will be looking to get back among the runs and boost his sides playoff chances.

In his IPL career, Shreyas has scored 456 runs against KKR. He averages a decent 38 against them with a strike rate of 149.5.

Punjab have won five of their eight games so far, and are currently placed fifth on the points table to be one of the frontrunners in the race for the playoffs.

They will be looking to pocket maximum points from their remaining six fixtures to propel themselves to their first playoff berth since 2014.

KKR, on the other hand, have struggled with form, managing only three wins from eights games and are currently placed 7th in the standings.

In their last match, they went down to Gujarat Titans by 39 runs, which was their second defeat in a row.

Before that they had lost to Punjab in the reverse fixture, getting all out for just 95 runs while chasing a lowly target of 112 runs in Mullanpur.

The main reasons for the poor show so far this season have been the indifferent form of some of their key batters and a lack of balance within the team.

Apart from Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (271 runs from 8 matches) and youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi (197 runs from 8 matches), all other batters, including Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh were highly inconsistent.

Their bowlers, however, have performed reasonably well, with pacers Harshit Rana (11 wickets) and Vaibhav Arora (9), and spinners Varun Chakaravarthy (10) and Sunil Narine (7) leading the charts.

Another defeat at the home ground would further dent their slim chances of reaching the playoffs.

KKR have dominated Punjab in the IPL, having won 21 out of 34 matches played between them.

However, Punjab hold an edge over them in recent times, winning three of their last five encounters, including once this season.

IPL 2025 Updates: Match called off

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