NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma lit up the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur — not just with his bat, but with his reaction — after a dramatic moment during the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals IPL 2025 clash on Thursday.
In the second over of the match, Rohit was given out LBW off Fazalhaq Farooqi, only for the Decision Review System (DRS) to flip the script at the very last second.
The incident happened on the fifth ball of the second over.
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Farooqi bowled a slower one that drifted into the pads. Rohit, completely outfoxed by the pace, missed his shot and was hit on the back leg.
It looked plumb in real time, and the umpire raised his finger immediately. Rohit looked uncertain but decided to review the decision with just a second left on the DRS timer.
To everyone’s surprise, the ball-tracking replay showed the delivery pitched just outside the leg stump.
The decision was reversed, and Rohit burst into laughter — his reaction perfectly captured by cameras and quickly going viral on social media.
It was a moment of comic relief in a high-stakes game, and fans couldn’t get enough of it.
At the toss earlier, Rajasthan Royals’ stand-in skipper Riyan Parag had opted to bowl first, citing potential dew later in the evening.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya said he would’ve bowled first too but remained confident in his side’s approach and form.
Mumbai came into the match riding high with five consecutive wins and sitting third on the table, while RR struggled in eighth place with only three wins from ten games.
In a tournament filled with intensity, it’s these little moments, like Rohit’s laugh, that bring joy to cricket lovers everywhere.

Muddled season: CSK’s pattern of defeats was almost painfully identical.
| Photo Credit: Sportzpics/ipl

When a team sets a high bar, there is an unshakable trust in the blueprint as it has worked time and time again.

However, there comes a phase when the rivals catch up and the much-celebrated champion finds itself stuck in the past. For Chennai Super Kings, that moment has arrived as it failed to progress to the IPL playoffs for the second consecutive year.

The four-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings on Wednesday was the nadir for the five-time champion, which slumped to its eighth reverse in 10 games and crashed out of the tournament well before the end of the league stage.

The loss against Kings was Super Kings’ fifth successive one at home (MAC Stadium), where it hardly used to face setbacks.

The abysmal performance can be traced back to the auction when the think-tank failed to assemble a batting unit that was in tune with the demands of modern-day T20 cricket, where the ability to tee off from the get-go is paramount.

The pattern of defeats was almost painfully identical; the top-order failed to maximise the PowerPlay while setting or chasing a total, leaving the rest to play catch-up.

That the Yellow Brigade hit only six maximums in the PowerPlay in 2025 — young Vaibhav Suryavanshi managed it in just one innings in the first six overs against Gujarat Titans — reflected how sluggish the starts were.

CSK has often extracted the best out of players who might not have done well at other franchises. The strong belief in that philosophy probably dictated its strategy to pick an Indian batting core.

Unfortunately, the decision to pin hopes on Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda backfired. The lack of form from its overseas batting options, Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, and the waning powers of Ravindra Jadeja and M.S. Dhoni made it a perfect storm.

Rigid and predictable

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dhoni’s captaincy looked rigid and predictable.

The management’s reluctance to back youth, unlike other teams, showed the archaic mindset. Only when pushed to a corner did they try out youngsters like Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, and Dewald Brevis — the last two being injury replacements.

A rich legacy and glittering cabinet are all fine but not reading the evolving landscape is proving disastrous.

There needs to be soul-searching and tough calls if Super Kings want to prevent their recent slump turning into a prolonged rut.

Mumbai Indians’ Vignesh Puthur, File
| Photo Credit: PTI

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians on Thursday roped in leg-spinner Raghu Sharma as a replacement for injured Vignesh Puthur for the remainder of the ongoing IPL season.

Kerala left-arm spinner Puthur has been ruled out due to bone stress reactions in both shins, the franchise stated.

The 31-year-old Sharma, who was part of the MI’s support bowling unit, now joins the main squad.

A right-arm leg-break bowler, Sharma has represented Punjab and Puducherry in domestic cricket.

In 11 first-class matches, he has taken 57 wickets at an average of 19.59, including best figures of 7/56. He has also claimed 14 wickets in 9 List A games, and 3 wickets in 3 T20s.

Puthur, who impressed with six wickets in his maiden IPL season, including three on debut against Chennai Super Kings, will remain with the team to continue his recovery and rehabilitation under the guidance of Mumbai Indians’ medical and strength & conditioning staff.