Priyansh Arya sizzles, Rohit Sharma struggles: Top five takeaways at the halfway stage of IPL 2025

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is nearing its half way stage and most teams would have played seven matches by the end of the week.

The first half has seen several records being broken, youngsters announcing themselves and a few veterans rediscovering their game. A few have also struggled to find form during the ongoing season.

Here are the top happenings in IPL 2025.

The CSK slump

Ruturaj Gaikwad started off as the skipper of Chennai Super Kings but veteran MS Dhoni has taken over as Gaikwad has been ruled out after a fracture elbow.

The five-time champions have struggled in the tournament with one win in six matches and are sitting at the bottom of the table.

The return of the 43-year-old Dhoni as the captain has not inspired the team. Upon his return, CSK collapsed to 103/9 against Kolkata, who eased to an eight-wicket win with 59 balls to spare.

Further, the World Cup-winning captain has been among the runs batting down the order, but age seems to have diminished his ability to play longer innings.

The team needs to turn things around soon to avoid an early knockout from IPL 2025.

Left-arm spinners rule

Left-arm spinners have proven to be effective, keeping control of run rates in the middle overs. CSK's Afghan wrist spinner Noor Ahmad is leading the race for the Purple Cap with 12 wickets.

Another left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who plays for Delhi Capitals, has been the most economical spinner this season and has taken 10 wickets, while GT's orthodox bowler Sai Kishore has impressed with 10 wickets. RCB's Krunal Pandya, too is in the race with eight wickets.

Another left-arm wrist spinner, Vignesh Puthur, has been a contender for the emerging player's award. The 24-year-old took three wickets on debut for Mumbai Indians, despite not yet playing senior representative cricket for his state.

Openers use the powerplay

Openers have always been among runs in IPL historically. This season is no exception and the two out of the three centuries that have been scored so far have been smashed by openers Priyansh Arya and Abhishek Sharma of Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, respectively.

Arya hammered a 39-ball century for Punjab Kings, the fourth fastest IPL century of all time, including nine sixes. Just four days later, PBKS was at the receiving end when Sharma took 40 balls to reach his hundred.

He went on to shatter records with 141 runs in 55 balls, with 14 fours and 10 sixes. It is now the highest score by an Indian in IPL.

Openers Sai Sudharsan from Gujarat Titans, Mitchell Marsh of Lucknow Super Giants, Travis Head of SRH, Phil Salt from Royal Challengers Bengaluru and his opening partner Virat Kohli have also made rapid fifties to get their side off to great starts.

Hits and misses

Star batter Kohli has carried his Champions Trophy form into IPL and has scored 248 runs including three half-centuries, but fellow big names Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant have struggled.

India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma has scored 0, 8, 13, 17 and 18 in his five outings for Mumbai.

Lucknow splashed a record Rs 27 crore for wicketkeeper-batsman Pant but have seen no return yet for their money as their new skipper has managed just 40 runs in five matches.

India's T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav has blown hot and cold during the tournament with a single half century and a couple of cameos.

PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer is one player who has justified a big auction price of Rs 26.75 crore by hammering 250 runs, including a best of 97 not out.

Delhi Capitals fly high

DC, one of the three original teams that have never won the IPL, is being led by a new captain in Axar Patel. They got off to a flying start with four straight wins before falling by a small margin to suffer their first defeat on Sunday. They are currently placed second on the table, only behind GT.

DC made wholesale changes to their team 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 matches.

In the season opener, DC edged LSG by one wicket. Patel vowed to "make it a habit" under his captaincy to get the better of the tight encounters, so vital for IPL success.

Two other teams looking for their first title have also started well with RCB having won four of their six matches, while PBKS have won three of their five games. Further LSG, who entered IPL in 2022, are also sitting comfortably with four wins in six matches.