The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on March 21, with Eden Gardens set to host both the tournament opener and the final on May 25. Additionally, the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be held between February 7 and March 2. In a first for the IPL, ahead of the mega auction in […]
The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on March 21, with Eden Gardens set to host both the tournament opener and the final on May 25. Additionally, the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be held between February 7 and March 2. In a first for the IPL, ahead of the mega auction in November, the league shared the scheduling windows for the next three seasons (2025-27) with the franchises. The 2025 IPL window is earmarked between March 15 and May 25. Given that the 2025 Champions Trophy final is scheduled for March 9, the IPL chose to start the tournament with a two-week gap, setting the start date as March 21. The full schedule for IPL 2025 is expected to be released later this month.
As is tradition, the home venue of the defending champions will host the opening match and the final, and this year it will be Eden Gardens, the home ground of Kolkata Knight Riders, who claimed the 2024 IPL title. Eden Gardens will also host Qualifier 2, while the first two playoff matches – Qualifier 1 and Eliminator – will take place in Hyderabad. This structure follows the usual pattern of IPL logistics, where key playoff games are shared among select venues.
The 2025 IPL season will feature 74 matches, maintaining the format from the last three seasons. This number is 10 fewer than the 84 matches initially planned when the IPL’s media rights were sold for the 2023-27 cycle. The tender document for this new rights cycle had proposed a varying number of matches per season: 74 matches for 2023 and 2024, 84 for 2025 and 2026, and up to 94 games for the final year in 2027.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the addition of two new venues for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) this year. In addition to Mumbai and Bangalore, Baroda and Lucknow will also host matches in the 2025 season.
The exact number of games scheduled at each venue is yet to be revealed, as the WPL schedule has not been released. However, this expansion is set to bring more excitement and variety to the tournament, with new locations adding to the overall experience.
Vidarbha chased down a challenging target of 292 in remarkable style, thanks to unbeaten centuries from Karun Nair and Dhruv Shorey, propelling them to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Nair, the Vidarbha captain, continued his stellar form with his fourth consecutive century and fifth of the season. He finished on 122*, leading the charge with an aggressive approach, taking just 82 balls for his knock, which included 13 fours and five sixes. With this century, Nair topped the run charts with an incredible 664 runs, maintaining an average of 664, having been dismissed just once in six innings.
Nair’s partnership with Dhruv Shorey proved decisive as they shared an unbroken 200-run stand for the second wicket, finishing the chase in just 43.3 overs. Shorey, who had earlier shared a 92-run opening stand with Yash Rathod, remained composed throughout the chase, scoring 118* off 131 balls, including ten fours and three sixes. The duo made short work of Rajasthan’s total, with both batters playing with authority and precision to comfortably guide Vidarbha to victory.
Earlier, Rajasthan struggled with the bat after being put in to bat, with their top order falling early. Opener Abhijeet Tomar was dismissed for just 6, and his partner, Manav Suthar, was gone soon after, leaving Rajasthan at a precarious 15 for 2 in the seventh over. Mahipal Lomror and Deepak Hooda tried to stabilize the innings with a 71-run partnership, but both were dismissed within a few overs. Shubham Garhwal and Kartik Sharma then added 82 runs for the fifth wicket, but Rajasthan’s chances of a big total were further reduced when Garhwal was dismissed for 59.
Despite a late surge from Deepak Chahar, who struck 31 off just 14 balls, Rajasthan finished with a total of 292, well short of what was needed to defend. Vidarbha’s bowling attack, led by Yash Thakur, who took 4 for 39, kept the pressure on throughout the innings. Rajasthan’s collapse allowed Vidarbha to dominate the chase, and with this victory, they will face Maharashtra in the second semi-final on January 16 in Vadodara.
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