22-year-old leg-spinner Suyash Sharma was the star for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Suyash Sharma Stars with the Ball in Qualifier 1
Playing at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Suyash took 3 wickets for just 17 runs in 3 overs, dismissing Shashank Singh, Musheer Khan, and Marcus Stoinis. After the match, he confidently told fans that RCB would lift the trophy on June 3 and celebrate in style.
RCB’s bowlers were in top form, bowling out PBKS for just 101 in 14.1 overs – the joint third-lowest total in IPL playoff history. Josh Hazlewood and Suyash took three wickets each, Yash Dayal got two, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Romario Shepherd picked one each.
Lowest Team Totals in IPL Playoffs:
- 82 – Deccan Chargers vs RCB, 2010
- 87 – DC vs RR, 2008
- 101 – LSG vs MI, 2023
- 101 – PBKS vs RCB, 2025*
- 104 – Deccan Chargers vs CSK, 2010
Lowest All-Out Totals for PBKS:
- 73 vs RPS, 2017
- 88 vs RCB, 2015
- 88 vs RCB, 2018
- 101 vs RCB, 2025*
- 111 vs KKR, 2025
Player of the Match – Suyash Sharma Shares His Simple Yet Effective Strategy
Suyash Sharma was named Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling in Qualifier 1. Speaking to Harsha Bhogle after the game, he said his coaches told him to focus on hitting the stumps with every delivery. He said:
“My coaches gave me just one role, which is to hit the stumps whether I bowl leg break, googly, flipper, or any other variation. It (googly) is my stock ball and also I got a bit of help from the wicket as well.”
When asked about celebrating the win, Suyash said the big celebration would come after winning the final:
“Hum celebrate karenge on 3rd June aur bahut zor se celebrate karenge. (Not quite now (whether he will be celebrating tonight), We will celebrate on the 3rd (June), and very hard as well.)”
During the mid-innings break, he also shared that the batters struggled to read his deliveries:
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“Just tried to execute the plan by our coach. Was feeling very good today while bowling. No one wasn’t able to read my googlies today, that is what I feel.
We just tried to treat it as a normal match, never considered as if we are playing a semi-final. I have worked hard on my bowling.”
