Good morning. If you’re still hanging around Silk Board after last night’s celebrations, it may be time to head back to work before your inbox eats you alive and Slack pings start coming thick and fast. Here’s Cricbuzz Pulse, a quick two-minute scan of the IPL scene.
Last night in five lines
- Tim David’s leg stump was uprooted by a perfect yorker from Anshul Kamboj.
- David made 28 off 14 balls, but the dismissal sequence included a no-ball.
- After that, David struck five sixes and a couple of fours as RCB piled up a total of 250.
- A 106-metre six also cleared the boundary and landed on the roof.
- The action and talking points set up a busy IPL morning.
Oh, this happened: Kamboj struck with a yorker that took Tim David’s leg stump, but it came with a twist—there was a no-ball in the moment. Even so, David refused to let the innings drift, smashing five maximums and two more fours later. RCB ended up at 250, with one particular hit measuring 106 metres and finishing on the roof.
Pulse Awards
- Well-that-aged-fast: SRH for letting Shami go.
- Wait-that-wasn’t-in-script: Shami for cutters with the new ball that confused SRH’s batters.
- Copy-paste-that: Devdutt Padikkal for carrying domestic form straight into the IPL.
- It’s-lonely-at-the-top: Khaleel Ahmed for keeping CSK’s economy rate in single digits.
- Why-would-you-do-this: Rishabh Pant for pushing the chase deep and keeping everyone involved.
- We-talked-about-this: Nitish Reddy for leaking runs despite new-ball success the day before.
- Where-was-this-earlier: The Hyderabad pitch for finally offering something to bowlers.
The well-that-aged-fast award went to SRH for the way they allowed Shami back into the contest. The wait-that-wasn’t-in-script nod was for Shami himself—his cutter-heavy spell with the new ball left SRH’s top order looking out of sync. Copy-paste-that belonged to Devdutt Padikkal, who translated his domestic rhythm into IPL impact.
It’s-lonely-at-the-top went to Khaleel Ahmed, singled out for being the only CSK bowler to keep his economy in single digits. Why-would-you-do-this was awarded to Rishabh Pant for taking the chase deep and dragging the game along with him. We-talked-about-this went to Nitish Reddy, who conceded runs in the new-ball phase even after having success with the older ball just a day earlier. Finally, where-was-this-earlier was for the Hyderabad surface, which finally behaved like it wanted to challenge bowlers.
Talking point
Mohammed Shami’s return to Hyderabad was the headline. It’s a ground that has let him go before—and where he has also conceded some of his most expensive T20 figures. Still, facing SRH was always set up to be a blockbuster matchup, and the veteran pacer made immediate dents by removing Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma with cutters. Those are not the deliveries he typically leads with when the ball is fresh.
The early strike mattered. SRH slipped to 22/3, far from the sort of powerplay fireworks they usually create at home. That early damage ultimately became the hinge on which the contest turned.
The chatter
Shami also set the tone with a cheeky reminder that “last year I was here,” adding that “a lot of slower balls were bowled,” making the cutters in the powerplay feel less surprising than they might have otherwise. In Bengaluru, though, RCB might have come out on top, but there was no hiding that Tim David’s batting brought its own complications.
David explained that he’s been “getting in trouble training with the boys.” The group runs competitions to try and smash balls onto the roof, but practices often happen on side pitches, so it’s harder to get the timing right. Still, pulling off a shot like that during a match—timed cleanly and from the middle—was described as a particularly pleasing moment. Bhuvneshwar added a different angle after watching David bat, saying he wasn’t sure whether they should be happy or worried because they still had to bowl next.
Stat Snack
Fourteen separate batters struck at least one six in the RCB–CSK clash, a new record for the IPL.
What’s the latest gossip?
Birdies suggest the “sarpanch” tag may have started with Ricky Ponting in the nets, repeatedly calling out “sir, punch” to the younger players. With the captain so closely wrapped into the coach’s style and image, the message sometimes blurred—until people began getting mixed up about who was actually saying what.
Tonight’s watchlist
There are three things to keep an eye on in Kolkata: the pitch (how it will play), Rahane (what he will say this time), and the weather (whether rain interrupts). KKR host Punjab Kings in a game loaded with context. Last year, Punjab Kings beat KKR in a way that derailed their campaign, with the contest also featuring a fresh hit to the record of the lowest total defended in the IPL.
With that history in the background, expect more than just tactics—there could be a bit of memory, and potentially a bit of payback. Who knows what shows up when the teams walk out.
Reckless prediction for tonight’s match
The weather is also expected to work against KKR’s spinners, and the forecast points toward another green surface at Eden Gardens.
