The Indian Premier League 2025 returns after a week-long suspension due to India-Pakistan border tensions. The action resumes with Match 58 --Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders -- at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium today (Saturday, May 17).
The IPL 2025 break wasn바카라™t quiet by any means. Fans were already reeling from Rohit Sharma바카라™s sudden Test retirement when Virat Kohli added to the shock by announcing his own exit from red-ball cricket. Meanwhile, several international stars headed home for security reasons. Some returned, others could not to fulfil national duties with the World Test Championship on the line.
Here are five key things to know as the season restarts:
1. IPL Points Table:
The season resumes with Gujarat Titans topping the table, holding 16 points from 11 matches. Royal Challengers Bengaluru also have 16 points from 11 games but sit second due to a lower NRR. Punjab Kings are third with 15 points from 11 matches.
2. Playoff Qualifications:
Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru need just one win each to confirm their playoff spots. Punjab Kings can also secure qualification with a single win but may need to win all remaining matches depending on net run rate and other teams' results.
Mumbai Indians sit fourth with 14 points from 12 games and must win both remaining fixtures to qualify, while Delhi Capitals, on 13 points from 11 matches, need at least two wins from three games against tough opponents to stay in the race.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants, with 11 and 10 points respectively, still have playoff hopes.
3. Teams Out of the IPL Playoff Race:
Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad are out of contention, stuck at the bottom with 6, 6, and 7 points, respectively.
Remaining matches:
CSK - Vs RR on May 20 and GT on May 25.
SRH - Vs LSG May 19, RCB May 23 and KKR may 25.
RR - Vs PBKS May 18, and CSK May 20
4. Individual Honours Leaderboards:
Suryakumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians leads the run charts with 510 runs and holds the Orange Cap. Meanwhile, three Gujarat Titans batsmen feature in the top five--a rare IPL occurrence: Sai Sudharsan is second with 509 runs, Shubman Gill third with 508, and Jos Buttler fifth with 500. Royal Challengers Bengaluru바카라™s star Virat Kohli ranks fourth with 505 runs.
For the Purple Cap, Noor Ahmad of Chennai Super Kings lead with 20 wickets from 12 matches, maintaining an economy of 8.02. Prasidh Krishna of Gujarat Titans follows closely with 18 wickets from 11 games. RCB바카라™s Josh Hazlewood and MI바카라™s Trent Boult also have 18 wickets each, ranked third and fourth respectively based on economy rate. Varun Chakravarthy sits fifth with 17 wickets.
5. What Happened During the IPL Suspension:
A lot unfolded during the week-long IPL break -- including the major news of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announcing their retirement from Test cricket. Tensions at the India-Pakistan border escalated but eventually deescalated, raising concerns for overseas players. Some, like Delhi Capitals' Mitchell Starc and Jake Fraser-McGurk, decided not to return to India. From KKR, Moeen Ali and Rovman Powell also stepped back.
Nevertheless, all players from RCB, MI, PBKS, LSG, GT, and SRH are currently available. However, the South African cricket board has confirmed that Proteas players will return home by May 27 due to national duty commitments, meaning they will miss the playoffs and final.
