IPL Pulse: Smokes and mirrors in New Chandigarh

@B0$ Punjab Superfast Express, operating so far on platform No.1, has hit a slight snag. While it remains on platform one, the gap between the next two trains has narrowed.

Nearly a month after their first game, PBKS finally felt the bitter taste of a loss, finishing second best @L0$.

Six-hitting duels can often feel like a blur: here's Cricbuzz's IPL Pulse to remind you what you watched (or did not).

@B1$

Archer was quick and spicy in the Powerplay, but also conceded the most he has this season (40)

Led by Prabhsimran, the entire top-order chipped in, but Stoinis stole the show with a late blitz

RR smashed their second-highest Powerplay score against PBKS, led by Boy Wonder's 16-ball carnage

Jaiswal glued the innings together, while Ferreira-Dubey played the finishers' role to perfection

RR have now won all three games against PBKS in Mullanpur

@B2$

Yeah yeah, Sooryavanshi was at it again, clanking five sixes and three fours across 16 balls. Nothing this kid does is surprising anymore. And he stole back the Orange Cap from his opening partner, becoming the first man (kid) this season to cross 400 runs.

@B3$

The @B4$ award goes to Rajasthan Royals for ensuring Punjab Kings don't get too cocky and try to win the title unbeaten.

The @B5$ award goes to Harpreet Brar for walking into a season of 200s, and putting together a thrifty spell in his first game itself

The @B6$ award goes to Arshdeep Singh, for catching the biggest fish of the day (Sooryavanshi), but also emptying his collections in the ocean with his most expensive IPL spell.

The @B7$ award goes to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, for keeping the helicopter in vogue. Azharuddin, Tendulkar, Dhoni... they all did it. Pass the baton.

The @B8$ award goes to the IPL, for vindicating the "perfectly balanced, as all things should be" line, and ensuring a 75 all out is followed by 222 getting chased, right after.

@B9$

Should Punjab be concerned about their bowling? RR's chase held up a proper mirror to their bowling inconsistencies. While RR's quicks had gone @L1$ in the Powerplay, their PBKS counterparts missed their lengths too often. So far this season, their bowlers have conceded at 10.86 in overs 1 to 6, taking just nine wickets (the third-least). And even though Chahal-Brar did well to pull things back, the early damage was significant enough.

@B10$

Shreyas Iyer admitted that PBKS did not execute as well as they had planned their bowling. "We had planned to bowl a lot of slower ones, pace off, yorkers. I think we fell a bit short over there".

Bowling coach James Hopes insisted Lockie Ferguson was "not an experiment," and that he was "ready to go" after returning from his paternity leave, putting his weight behind the "world-class bowler".

RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara lauded Shubham Dubey for acing the Impact Sub's role, given it is "one of the hardest things to do because you don't know if you're playing, you don't know". He praised Dubey for being "mentally skillful", while also called Donovan Ferreira "outstanding".

@B11$

Rhyming with a Dua Lipa chartbuster, we are seeing a "Chasing Season" this IPL. Nine 200+ totals have been hunted down, as many as in 2025 (and we're just over halfway there).

@B12$

Smokin Joe's Pizzas have approached a certain IPL captain after pictures of him in the dressing room went viral on social media. It remains to be seen whether the matter goes up in smoke or sparks something more serious.

@B13$

@L2$. Can Mumbai Indians still pull off their famed comebacks? It's a stiff challenge, but if someone can make it happen, it's that blue-and-gold outfit with five titles in their cabinet.

@B14$

An Indian batting legend, turning 39 tomorrow, makes a hasty return from injury and smashes a 35-ball hundred to show a fifteen-year-old his place.