Arya shines, Pant struggles: Five storylines halfway through IPL

NEW DELHI: The Indian Premier League season reaches the halfway point this week as 10 teams battle for supremacy in the high-octane Twenty20 cricket tournament. AFP Sport highlights five talking points from the opening weeks of the 2025 IPL:

- Chennai slump -

Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings to five IPL crowns in the past, but the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman is struggling to inspire the bottom-placed team.

The 43-year-old former India World Cup-winning captain has been among the runs batting down the order, but age seems to have diminished his finishing powers and Chennai have won only one of their six matches. When captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was injured before their last game, Dhoni found himself leading Chennai again.

But they collapsed to 103 all out against Kolkata, who romped to an eight-wicket win with 59 balls to spare. The team need to find a spark soon, but commentator and former Australia skipper Michael Clarke noted on JioStar that Chennai´s approach was "conservative" and their aim seems to be "avoid a big defeat".

- Lefties on top -

Left-arm spinners have proved crucial in keeping control of run rates in the middle overs, with Chennai´s Afghanistan wrist spinner Noor Ahmad leading the bowling charts with 12 wickets. Orthodox leftie Sai Kishore has also been able to choke the scoring rate for Gujarat Titans, as has wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav of Delhi Capitals. Yadav picked up two more dismissals Sunday to join Kishore on the 10-wicket mark.

Another left-arm wrist spinner, Vignesh Puthur, emerged as a talent to watch after the 24-year-old took three wickets on debut for Mumbai Indians, despite not yet playing senior representative cricket for his state.

- Openers sparkle -

Priyansh Arya and fellow left-hander Abhishek Sharma have lit up the IPL with their swashbuckling batting at the top of the order. Arya hammered a 39-ball century for Punjab Kings, the fourth fastest IPL century of all time, including nine sixes.

Four days later, Arya and Punjab were on the receiving end when Abhishek took 40 balls to reach his hundred. He went on to bludgeon 141 in 55 balls, with 14 fours and 10 sixes, as Sunrisers Hyderabad overhauled Punjab´s 245 to pull off the second highest chase in IPL history.

Openers Sai Sudharsan (Gujarat), Mitchell Marsh (Lucknow), Travis Head (Hyderabad), Phil Salt (Bengaluru) and Virat Kohli (Bengaluru) have also made rapid fifties to get their side off to great starts.

- Hot and cold stars -

Kohli has carried his Champions Trophy form into the IPL with 248 runs including three half-centuries, but fellow big names Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant have struggled. India´s Test and ODI captain Rohit has scored 0, 8, 13, 17 and 18 in his five outings for Mumbai.

Lucknow splashed a record $3.21 million for wicketkeeper-batsman Pant but have seen no return yet for their money as their new skipper has managed just 40 runs. Shreyas Iyer is one player who has justified a big auction price -- $3.17 million -- by hammering 250 runs, including a best of 97 not out, for Punjab.

- Rahul fires Delhi -

Delhi Capitals have never won the IPL but have made a strong start, led by new captain Axar Patel. They got off to four straight wins before falling to their first defeat on Sunday to lie second behind Gujarat.

The Capitals revamped their side in November´s auction and the new set-up is working so far with senior batsman KL Rahul leading the way having scored 200 runs in his four appearances. Delhi edged Lucknow by one wicket in their opening win and Axar vowed to "make it a habit" under his captaincy to get the better of the tight encounters, so vital for IPL success.

Another team looking for a first IPL title are Punjab, under Shreyas Iyer, and they have ridden on the form of Arya, Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh, who has scored 133 runs, to record three wins from five matches.