IPL 2025: New Player Signings, Last-Over Thrillers, and Playoff Race Heating Up
Published - 15 May 2025, 09:05 PM | Updated - 15 May 2025, 09:14 PM
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The Indian Premier League is in full motion right now and after eleven rounds things are starting to shape up. While everyone saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru dominating the league, and they have so far, no one could have predicted that Punjab Kings will be in second place with seven wins, three losses and one no-contest. Plenty of teams are still chasing the coveted four places that lead to playoffs and we have lots of fun ahead of us.
Of course, there's an ongoing fight for individual rewards hidden in the forest of team achievements, but shouldn't neglect the most amazing duels for Orange Cap where the stat leader changes after every round. The Indian Premier League is one of the most interesting cricket competitions in the world and the 2025 IPL season has brought us even more excitement than we expected. With plenty more left to play for, here is the news that hit the headlines in the past few days, followed by a few predictions of our own for the remainder of the season.
Chennai Super Kings Grasping at The Last Straw
This was not a good year for Chennai Super Kings. The team is one of the worst in the league and at the moment they're dead last out of ten teams, with a record of 2:9 and things are looking bleak. Even if they win all of their remaining fixtures, chances of reaching the playoffs are rather slim to nonexistent. Yet, it is not in the nature of the IPL for a team to quit. In what many see as a desperate move, Super Kings are making roster moves. CSK have acquired Urvil Patel who will serve as a replacement for the injured Vansh Bedi who tore a ligament in his ankle and will be unavailable for the remainder of the season. Patel will be in charge of changing the fortunes of CSK for a modest price of INR 30 lakh. So far in his career he has scored 1.162 runs in 47 T 20 matches. In the 2023 IPL season he was a member of Gujarat Titans, but went undrafted this season. While IPL undrafted, Urvil was too much for domestic cricket as he smashed records left and right managing to achieve the second fastest T20 century in men's cricket in only 28 balls. This feat was achieved in a duel between Gujarat and Tripura and Super Kings will be hoping for more of the same in an attempt to save their season.
Rishabh Pant Believes Playoffs are Reachable for LSG
After a 37 run defeat in the hands of Punjab Kings not many people in the Lucknow Super Giants locker room thought about playoffs. One of those, while dissatisfied with the recent results, who believes that LSG can still reach the playoffs is Rishabh Pant. During the post match presentation Pant admitted that his team lost because they allowed too many runs before it was their turn to bat and they couldn't catch up. While the defeat in the hands of Punjab Kings was a hard one, Pant is not losing faith in his teammates. The team captain remains adamant that with the right string of results they can easily find themselves in the playoff race. Of course, Pant knows that in order to reach the playoffs LSG need to win their remaining three fixtures and that will not be an easy task. Yet, if they manage to snatch the win against the leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru, anything is possible.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi Makes History
It appears that this is going to be a historic IPL season in more ways than one. During this season Rajasthan Royals batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi made history by becoming the youngest batter ever to record a century at 14 years old. He completed the feat from only 35 balls showing to the world that we have a prodigy on our hands. Before this remarkable achievement Suryavanshi was the talk of the IPL as early as April as he was the youngest player to ever make his debut in the IPL or to even get drafted. The left handed batsman cost 1.1 crore rupees, and managed to make an immediate impact on the league. Rajasthan Royals are not having the best of years so far with a 3:9 record, but if they keep their young gun for the foreseeable future then the season ahead and positive results are as good as secured.
Rain Kills SRH Playoff Hopes
What's sometimes so strange with cricket is that not everything is in the hands of batters and bowlers. Sometimes, a bigger force can decide the outcome of a match. This is what happened before the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Delhi Capitals duel at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday. Due to heavy and persistent rain the duel was cancelled giving the SRH a
no-contest on the books which when paired with their three wins and seven defeats leaves the team without mathematical chances of reaching the playoffs. Today, SRH join the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals as only three teams that have been eliminated from the playoff race. So, if you love not only to watch cricket but also to bet on the IPL on Stake you're better off betting against these teams that will have little to no motivation to play in the remaining fixtures.
Virat Kohli Speaks of Players That Impacted Him as a Youngster
Virat Kohli is one of the sport's biggest superstars at the moment but way back in 2008 he was just a rookie who was looking for guidance. When Kohli joined the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2008 some of the biggest names in Indian cricket were there and Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble were among them. Yet, neither left an impact on the young Kohli the way Mark Boucher of South Africa did. In one of the most recent interviews Kohli gave, he reminisced over the early days on RCB and the conversations he had with Boucher. During and after the first few training sessions Mark took Virat on the side and talked to him about his game, what were his weaknesses and how he could get better. All of this happened unprompted and left a deep impression on the young Virat Kohli. It was Boucher who pushed Kohlid to do better, train harder, and to improve the weak side of his game all in order to fulfil his potential and become a big name on the international stage. Looking at how Kohli today leads the IPL betting odds as far as the Orange cap race is concerned it appears that Mark Boucher did an amazing job with the young Kohli.
Rohit Sharma Set to Join Virat Kohli
When the Mumbai Indians vs. Gujarat Titans clash is done for, Rohit Sharma will probably join Virat Kolhli in one of the most legendary milestones in the Indian Premier League. What Sharma is reaching for in this duel is to reach the 7000-run mark in the IPL. No player besides Virat Kohli has managed to do it in the IPL. Kohli has 8509 runs and his record appears to be untouchable considering that both players are still active, but Sharma could become a member of the elite 7000-run club in no time. After a slow start to the season the Mumbai Indians superstar has found its ground and has been on a hot run as of recently. During the last 4 innings in the 2025 Indian Premier League he's hit 211 runs, averaging 70.3 with a strike rate of 144 and the highest score of 26. When you look at these numbers it is no wonder that the Indians are on a six win hot streak and are not only favored to better the playoffs but to win the whole thing if they can keep their form up.
Delhi Capitals With a Clear Path to Playoffs
Earlier in the year it appeared that the Capitals would reach the playoffs easily in the 2025 season of IPL. After starting the year with four wins, it appeared that only sky's the limit. Defeats in the hands of Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians were followed with wins vs. Lucknow SuperGiants and Rajasthan Royals and it seemed like Capitals learned how to bounce back.
What no one saw coming was their defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders which came after an expected defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. While these two defeats were concerning, now after a no-contest against Sunrisers Hyderabad the team is outside of the playoff picture. This only means one thing - they need to win all of their remaining fixtures. The good and the bad news at the same time is the fact that they're playing all of the teams in the top part of the table with playoff aspirations. So, in order to reach the playoffs wins are necessary against Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans, and eventually their biggest rival at the moment Mumbai Indians.
Who Will Win The Indian Premier League 2025?
It is always ungrateful to make these predictions. One can't tell whether it is harder to make them before the season starts or when things get interesting as they are now. In any case, below you will find our Indian Premier League predictions as far as reaching the playoffs and winning the title goes.
Mumbai Indians
The form matters a lot in the sport of cricket. If we take a look at the table, the Mumbai Indians are not topping it but they are a team in the best form at the moment and with the six consecutive wins they're the team to beat. Bookmakers also recognize the danger that the Indians present and the odds of MI winning the 2025 IPL title are set at 2.85. With Rohit Sharma hitting the stride at the right part of the season after a slow start, Indians are on a right trajectory to win yet another IPL title and they are our betting favorites to do so.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB is the most consistent team this year. They're playing like champions should and with eight wins and only three defeats they're topping the table. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are a team to beat and similarly to MI they are on a good streak with four consecutive wins. One of the best active players, Virat Kohli is on their roster and is having a nice season competing for the Orange Cap in the process, and the chances are that RCB will be biggest rivals to Mumbai Indians for the title. The bookies have them as the second best team in this race and the odds of 3.75 reflect this.
Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings have never won an IPL title. For both them and the RCB this is an extra motive. Unlike RCB, the Punjab Kings are underappreciated by their peers, fans, and the bookmakers alike. With their odds set at 5.00 they're not really seen as the favourite to win it all. Many people still believe that there are serious chances that the Punjab Kings will slip and not even make it to the playoffs with three more rounds to go.
Gujarat Titans
As long as Shubman Gill plays up to the standards he set for himself and is delivering on the field Titans stand a chance. The bookies think the same and Titans' odds to win the 2025 IPL title are set at 5.5. At the moment, Gujarat Titans are occupying the last spot that leads to the playoffs with seven wins and three defeats. With their next match being against the Mumbai Indians they will have a chance to show the world what they're made of. In case they lose many people will have to start looking at Delhi Capitals as the dark horses to enter the playoffs on the brink of the last few rounds and with their odds being set at 17.00 they are a team worth monitoring and betting on.
