The 59th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season is witnessing a high-pressure encounter between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. For Rajasthan, the fixture carried little weight by way of qualification, as they’d already been knocked out of the playoff race. Nevertheless, for Punjab, it was a must-win match to remain within the coveted playoff berth.
BBL hero Mitchell Owen’s IPL debut ends in a duck for Punjab Kings
Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer gained the toss and opted to bat first on what seemed like a dry, arduous Jaipur floor. The massive pre-match buzz centered across the debut of Australian home batting sensation Mitchell Owen, who was handed his first IPL cap. Owen had changed Glenn Maxwell within the PBKS squad, and his inclusion raised eyebrows and expectations. His performances within the not too long ago concluded Massive Bash League (BBL) had turned heads.
Regardless of the optimism surrounding his choice, Owen’s IPL debut became a bitter disappointment. Coming in with hopes of repeating his BBL heroics, the right-hander was dismissed for a duck on simply his second ball. Going through Kwena Maphaka, Owen tried to tackle a back-of-length supply angled throughout him, making an attempt to hit it down the bottom. As an alternative, he obtained a prime edge that soared excessive into the Jaipur sky earlier than Sanju Samson safely accomplished the catch. It was a crushing second not just for Owen however for PBKS, because the extremely anticipated debut was over earlier than it even started.
Additionally READ: IPL 2025: Sanju Samson or Vaibhav Suryavanshi? Rajasthan Royals skipper gives clarity regarding opening against Punjab Kings
Owen had ended the BBL 14 season as the very best run-scorer and was instrumental in Hobart Hurricanes’ maiden title win, particularly within the last the place his explosive century in opposition to Sydney Thunder grew to become an instantaneous traditional. However his dismissal for a duck not solely deflated expectations but in addition triggered a wave of trolling on social media, with many mocking his incapacity to ship on the large stage. Memes and sarcastic posts flooded platforms like X (previously Twitter) mocking his golden duck and labeling him ‘BBL fraud,”. Many identified the irony of his record-breaking BBL kind falling flat in his very first IPL outing.
Right here’s how followers reacted:
Mitch Owen changed Maxi. He’s additionally taking part in precisely like him. 0(2) and a day fairly totally different from the BBL Closing
— Kartik Kannan (@kartik_kannan) May 18, 2025
BBL frauds like Michael Owen taking part in in IPL what has occurred to our stunning league 😭😭??
— Cricket🏏 Lover // ICT Fan Account (@CricCrazyV) May 18, 2025
Mitch Owen goes for 0. I’ve seen that BBL stars have at all times failed in IPL.
— abhishek (@agneeastra) May 18, 2025
Mitchell Owen getting cooked everywhere in the world after that Massive Bash Closing lol
— Yash😊🏏 (@YashR066) May 18, 2025
Mitchell Owen duck,
Thoughts you he scored a 100 in BBL finals.The requirements of each these leagues😂😂
— chukandar#269🥀 (@kyabataubhai) May 18, 2025
Why does the gamers who carry out in bbl fails in IPL final time additionally Brief got here as a alternative and failed and this time Owen #RRvsPBKS
— Yuvraj Singh (@YuvrajSingh_1_) May 18, 2025
Mitchell Owen :
Scored 100 in BBL last.
Scored a duck in his IPL debut. 🦆⭐
Duck Academy stood tall. #RRvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/jMZX8QvgPB— Duck Academy (@Academyofducks) May 18, 2025
BBL Fraud “Owen” obtained quick Circuited 😭😭😭
— Utsav Arora (@JB93_RO45_SKY63) May 18, 2025
Mitchell Owen goes for a two-ball duck on his IPL debut!🦆🦆#RRvsPBKS #TanviTheGreatAtCannes pic.twitter.com/SAEMEbSN0Z
— Cricket With RS (@badkebhai) May 18, 2025
Mitch Owen not with essentially the most memorable IPL debut… two ball duck for the Tazzy boy
— Ammar (@Ammarzaheer) May 18, 2025
Additionally READ: IPL 2025: Playoffs qualification scenario for RCB after washed out game against KKR
