IPL is Back. And Week 1 Has Already Given Us Everything.

Last night, I was barely breathing.

Tushar Deshpande. Final over. Gujarat Titans needing 11 runs. Kagiso Rabada on strike. Rashid Khan at the other end. The entire Narendra Modi Stadium on its feet.

I was sitting at home, and I was still nervous.

That is what IPL does to you. Every single year. It pulls you in. It grabs you by the collar. And it does not let go until the last ball is bowled.

Deshpande bowled six consecutive deliveries on the blockhole and wide yorker length. Rabada and Rashid could only manage 4 runs. RR won by 6. Pure nerve. Pure drama.

Welcome back, IPL. I have missed you.

Eight Days. Nine Matches. One Theme.

It started on March 28 with Virat Kohli doing what Virat Kohli does.

Defending champions RCB were chasing 202 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kohli scored 69 not out. Devdutt Padikkal smashed 61. They got there in 15.4 overs. A title defense that began exactly like a champion would want it to.

Then came Rohit Sharma, reminding the world that age is just a number people use when they have run out of better arguments.

MI were chasing 221 against KKR. Rohit smashed 78 off 38 balls with six sixes, helping MI pull off a final-over victory. 38 years old. Absolutely no signs of slowing down. That knock had the whole country talking the next morning.

And then a 15-year-old walked in and made everyone forget about Rohit.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 52 off 17 balls against CSK. His fifty came in just 15 balls. The joint-third fastest fifty in IPL history. Strike rate of 305.88. Think about that for a second. He was not born when the IPL began in 2008. He does not know what nerves look like. He just walks in, clears his front leg, and hits it over the stands.

His post-match reaction? “They just said play your natural game. That’s what I did.”

That calmness is terrifying. In the best possible way.

RR chased down CSK’s 127 in just 12.1 overs. Eight wickets to spare. And CSK had a nightmare of their own. Sanju Samson, making his debut for his new team against his old one, got out for just 2. Cricket really has no sense of occasion.

Then came Cooper Connolly. An Australian nobody had heard of before March 31.

PBKS were 118 for 6 chasing a target of 163. Connolly walked in and scored 72 not out off 44 balls to win the match for his team. Just like that. First IPL game. Biggest moment of the chase. Completely unfazed.

Then Sameer Rizvi of Delhi. DC were in tatters at 26 for 4. Rizvi came in and scored 70 not out off 47 balls, winning the match almost single-handedly.

Unknown players. Big moments. Calm heads.

That is the theme of Week 1. Youth is not waiting for permission anymore.

And then last night, Dhruv Jurel scored a career-best 75 off 42 balls, Ravi Bishnoi ripped through GT’s middle order with 4 for 41, and Deshpande finished it off in the final over in the first real thriller of IPL 2026.

Eight days in. The tournament is already delivering.

Now Let Me Talk About KKR. Because I Have To.

I have supported this team since 2008. The bad years, the rebuilds, the heartbreaks, the three titles. 2024 felt like the start of something really special.

Right now, I am worried.

Harshit Rana is out for the entire season. Knee ligament injury from the T20 World Cup warm-up. Matheesh Pathirana, bought for Rs. 18 crore, is still not cleared by Sri Lanka Cricket. Cameron Green, the most expensive overseas buy in IPL history at Rs. 25.20 crore, is available only as a batter right now due to workload restrictions.

Three pacers. All unavailable or restricted. That is not bad luck. That is a crisis.

And Varun Chakravarthy, who I was counting on to be the difference-maker this season, is struggling for form and confidence after a difficult T20 World Cup where batters figured him out and hit him hard.

Two games played. Two losses. The batting has runs. The bowling has questions.

April 6, KKR host PBKS at Eden Gardens. The crowd will be loud. I will be watching. But honestly, something needs to change in how they are approaching their bowling combinations. This cannot continue.

So Where Does Week 2 Take Us?

CSK have 0 points from 2 games. So do KKR. Both proud franchises. Both under pressure already.

RR, PBKS, and DC are sitting pretty at the top. The Rajasthan Royals in particular look scary. That opening pair of Jaiswal and Suryavanshi has already put on 510 runs in partnership across IPL matches, needing only 246 balls between them. That is not an opening pair. That is a wrecking ball.

Today SRH face LSG. RCB face CSK. Both matches promise a lot.

The season has just started. And it already feels like there is no room to breathe.

That is exactly how IPL should feel.

Tell Me What You Think

Which moment of Week 1 had you on your feet?

Was it Rohit’s 78? Vaibhav’s 15-ball fifty? Connolly appearing from nowhere? Or last night’s final over at Ahmedabad?

And if you are a KKR fan like me, tell me honestly. Worried or not?

Drop your answer in the comments below. I read every single one. Always have.