IPL 2025 Week 2 trends: Bowlers dominate, importance of power play, CSK's dip in shape; What we have learned so far | Mint

The bat dominated the ball in the first five games of the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League. The bowlers made a mark in the 2nd week of the season. Ashwani Kumar makes History Noor Ahmad’s 4/18 vs MI the only four-wicked delivery in the first 6 games of the season, until Shardul Thakur opened the flood gates. Shardul registered his best IPL figures (4/34) in match 7 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Pacer Mitchell Starc, Delhi Capitals, registered its first five wickets in T20s on Sunday. Sri Lanka-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga broke the back of CSK with a four-wicket of its own in the Sunday encounter between RR and CSK. The striking moment of the week came to Mumbai on Monday, where the Mumbai Indians hosted the defending champions, KKR. Ashwani Kumar, the 23-year-old Pacer of the left arm of Punjab, made history by picking up a wicket from his very first ball in IPL. He became the 10th bowler to achieve the unique achievement. He didn’t stop with it. He added 3 more wickets and registered the best numbers (4/24) by an Indian on the IPL debut. Expensive signings are still struggling Rishabh Pant has started his tenure as LSG captain with a duck against his former team, Delhi Capitals. He followed it up with two more layers – 15 vs SRH and 2 vs PBKS. KKR’s Venkatesh Iyer encountered another failure when he made 3 runs against Mumbai Indians. Venkatesh has 9 runs from 2 innings this season. Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer continues to end the trend by hitting his 2nd fifty in 2 innings. He also became the first Indian captain, and third overall to hit the fifties as captain of a team in the first two innings. Stamp victories and fewer now finishes teams that first managed to win 3 of the last 8 games. RCB hit CSK by 50 runs, while GT MI defeated 36 runs. CSK’s close defeat to Rajasthan Royals with 6 runs was the only game that stayed alive until the last time. Chasing teams won 5 of the 8 games and the teams chased the target with 15, 23, 24, 43 and 22 balls to save. Win the PowerPlay, win the match Rajasthan Royals lost against Kolkata Knight Riders, despite scoring 14 more runs in the PowerPlay. In addition, the remaining 7 games went in favor of the team that won the PowerPlay. SRH scored 6 more runs than DC on Sunday, but lost 4 wickets compared to Delhi’s 0 wickets. 3 Toppers and 6 Laggers RCB, PBKS and DC remain unbeaten with 2 wins from 2 games. CSK, MI, KKR, RR, SRH and LSG all managed to win only one of their three games. CSK’s decline was the most dramatic of the lot. The men in yellow were at a comfortable position on Friday night. Two defeats in three days raised quite a few questions about their bowling combinations and batting depth. SRH is in a similar situation like CSK by losing their last two games. Mumbai-Indians and Rajasthan Royals cut their loss line of two games with a home win. Stay up to date with all the actions from the IPL 2025. Look at the IPL 2025 schedule, follow the latest IPL 2025 points table and follow the top performers with the orange cap and purple cap. Catch all news about the business, sports news, news reports and the best news updates on live currency. Download Themint News -APP to get daily market updates Business NewsSportScricket Newsiple 2025 Week 2 trends: Bowlers dominate, the importance of PowerPlays, CSK’s dip in shape; Which we have learned less so far