Drama unfolded at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur as Anrich Nortje walked in as the No. 11 batter for Kolkata Knight Riders, only to be stopped immediately for a bat check violation. The umpires asked him to change his bat as the initial one didn’t conform to cricket regulations. The moment added to the already intense atmosphere of the match, with KKR nine wickets down and needing 17 runs off 36 balls.
Just a ball earlier, Vaibhav Arora fell for a duck, gloving a hostile short ball from Arshdeep Singh straight to wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, leaving KKR at 95/9 in 14 overs.
It was a wicket-maiden over from Arshdeep—making it the fifth such maiden over in IPL 2025 that also included a wicket, joining an elite list:
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Jofra Archer vs CSK
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Vaibhav Arora vs SRH
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Mukesh Kumar vs RCB
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Moeen Ali vs CSK
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Arshdeep Singh vs KKR
With Andre Russell standing unbeaten on 17 off 10 balls, the entire weight of KKR’s chase rests on his shoulders. The game, once thought to be slipping from PBKS’s grasp, is now a nail-biting final chapter, with Nortje and Russell at the crease and 17 still required for victory.
