HOUSE FULL IPL: Ishan Kishan smashes ton for SRH in Hyderabad even as CSK show spin can win at Chepauk

Some call the Indian Premier League a graveyard for the bowlers. That is not true, if you had watched, even in bits and pieces, both the matches on Sunday at two venues, not too far apart. If Hyderabad was like a runway and runs flowed like a river in spate don’t curse the batters. The men who prepared the wicket as curators probably wanted to see a run- fest of sorts.

After Travis Head had hinted even 300 in one innings of the IPL is possible, the Aussie, himself, was cranking it up with shots of ferocious nature. If Travis made heads turn, what does one say of Ishan Kishan, the forgotten boy of Indian cricket. There are many stories where a youngster gets hyped and then he is forgotten or dumped. Ishan Kishan was also one such name, before he again made a mark in the IPL 2025.

A blistering century for his new franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, on a pleasant afternoon, was more than a treat. Before joining the franchise, he had checked with friends in SRH what they expected from him. The answer was runs. As a Bajan from Barbados would have said with a heavy accent, ‘maan, this kid is crazy.’ Ishan was in his elements as he lit up the proceedings with aggression which did not need to be tempered. It brought back memories from his previous innings which he has played for India in the not so distant past. When he was dropped from the list of players in the central contract of the BCCI in 2024, not many shed a tear. That’s how the BCCI is, for all its riches.

Ishan Kishan was lost in the woods, and a lot of uncharitable stuff was said about him. That he has found his feet and form and smashed a ton which was defining will be remembered. After all, at SRH, the batting methods are very clear, attack and score hard. It’s a template which has been decided upon by the think-tank, and right from the top of the order they have followed it. For Ishan Kishan to also embrace it and smash pacer Jofra Archer, notably, for runs was breathtaking. This is just one innings, but the maiden ton of IPL 2025 will always be remembered as special.

Away from Hyderabad, in Chennai, the hyped contest between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians was pretty one-sided. MI have failed to do well in the last few editions of the IPL. One cannot even blame Hardik Pandya for the misadventure on Sunday, as he was not leading. Suryakumar Yadav was the stand-in captain. His batting slump is worrying, so for him to not produce a big knock is worrying. For trolls, Rohit Sharma also falling cheaply is a chance to attack him on social media, not that it matters.

The romance of a cricket match at the Chepauk in Chennai is the ambience, where the stadium turns into a cauldron. Chennai is still not that hot but under the arc lights, when MS Dhoni and the legends step out, there is so much to feel nostalgic about. Before the match, on Jio Hotstar, Dhoni had spoken so lovingly about CSK that even if he is on a wheelchair, they will drag him and make him play. At 43 and pushing 44, Dhoni is King, Dhoni is still as sharp as before. One stumping he effected on Sunday was as electrifying as the ambience, swathed in canary yellow. That is the colour of CSK and the fans. They are ready to give an arm for watching one CSK match in their lifetime. This is a real life story.

To watch a match at Chepauk is as emotional as a cricket match at Lord’s in yesteryears when a Test match in England was ultimate. Yes, Dhoni and Ruturaj Gaikwad work in tandem. But the real deal is how Chepauk did not produce a belter for batters to blossom. The Chepauk wicket is tailor made for slow bowlers, the tweakers in particular. On Sunday, the old patent was on view, choke the batters and smile. Noor Ahmad was devastating, as the Afghan wrist spinner took four for 18. In the middle, R.Ashwin, returning to CSK after a long time, is still an emotion. And with Khaleel Ahmed, a left-arm fast bowler from Rajasthan retuning with a bowling analysis of 4-0-29-3, CSK had sewn it up early.

What a contrast, 524 runs scores in two innings in Hyderabad and in Chennai, a low scoring contest producing so much thrill. House Full at both venues, that’s IPL for you in its 18^th edition.