Dharamshala, May 8 (IANS) The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals has been called off at the HPCA Stadium on Thursday as a precautionary measure, said IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal to IANS. At the time of the game being called off, which was signalled from stadium floodlights being turned off, PBKS were 122/1 in 10.1 overs.
“Yes, the match has been called off as a precautionary step, because there are some incidents which happened in Jammu, I believe. That's what we got to know, so we thought it’s wise to call off the game,” said Dhumal to IANS from Dharamshala.
This agency understands that fans and both teams have started to be evacuated from the HPCA stadium by the tournament and local authorities due to security reasons. The development happened after Jammu had a complete blackout, with reports of civilians witnessing missile streaks in the sky and drone attacks happening from Pakistan.
A full blackout has been observed in Baramulla and Pathankot, while Chandigarh has also been signalled for a complete blackout. In the match that started after an hour’s delay, Prabhsimran Singh (50 not out) and Priyansh Arya (70) shared a rollicking 122-run opening stand.
Electing to bat first, Arya was off the mark from the word go by striking Mitchell Starc for consecutive boundaries. From the other end, Prabhsimran Singh took on Starc by hitting him for three boundaries, before Arya hit Chameera for a four and two sixes. Despite Axar Patel’s introduction in the fifth over, there was no respite for DC as PBKS ended the power-play at 69/0.
After that, Arya continued his attacking style of play by lofting Axar for six, before reaching his fifty off 25 balls. Despite Madhav Tiwari’s introduction, there was no stopping PBKS as they reached their hundred in 8.5 overs.
Arya then advanced in his attacking instincts by lofting Kuldeep for consecutive sixes, before Prabhsimran hit him for four and then reached his fourth consecutive fifty off 28 balls, as PBKS reached 122/0 at the halfway mark.
DC finally broke the 122-run partnership when Arya looked to hoick off T. Natarajan, but the top edge was caught by the short third-man. Immediately after that, the players left the field before the next ball was bowled due to a floodlight failure at the stadium, before the game was eventually called off.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 122/1 in 10.5 overs (Priyansh Arya 70, Prabhsimran Singh 50 not out; T Nataraja 1-4) against Delhi Capitals
Picture Courtesy: IANS