Season-opening wins for Hyderabad and Chennai in IPL

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Ishan Kishan scored 106 not out off 47 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs in their season-opening encounter in the 2025 Indian Premier League on Sunday.

Kishan smacked 11 fours and six sixes in his first IPL hundred on debut for his new franchise, which notched up its second-highest total in tournament history.

Travis Head scored 67 off 31 balls as the Sunrisers picked up where they left off in 2024 to reach a mammoth 286-6 in 20 overs.

Hyderabad’s previous highest score was 287-3 — the highest IPL total — against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last season.

In the evening game, Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by four wickets with five balls remaining in a high-profile clash.

Afghanistan’s left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad took 4-18 in four overs for Chennai as Mumbai was restricted to 155-9 after losing the toss. Tilak Varma top-scored with 31 off 25 balls.

Rachin Ravindra’s unbeaten 65 off 45 balls, along with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s quick-fire 53 off 26, helped Chennai score 158-6 in 19.1 overs.

Rajasthan Royals fought well to post 242-6 (20 overs) in reply to Hyderabad’s huge target. Dhruv Jurel led with 70 off 35 balls, while Sanju Samson scored 66 off 37 balls.

Put into bat, Hyderabad ran away at the start with Head and Abhishek Sharma’s (24) explosive opening pairing putting on 45 off 19 balls.

Kishan found another gear as he reached 50 off 25 balls. Hyderabad, which bought him at the season’s auction earlier, found immediate returns as the young batter smacked his way to an attacking hundred on debut for his new franchise.

He put on 85 off 39 balls with Head, who also hit nine fours and three sixes. The latter fell just prior to the halfway mark.

Kishan – and Hyderabad – did not let up the scoring rate. He found able company in Nitish Reddy who hit 30 off 15 balls and Heinrich Klaasen, who added 34 off 14 balls.

Kishan's next 50 came off 22 balls, as he raced to his century, helping Hyderabad to a statement total in its first outing.

England pacer Jofra Archer finished with 0-76 from four overs – the most expensive spell in IPL history.

Rajasthan faltered early in its chase. Yashasvi Jaiswal was out caught for one, while Riyan Parag was dismissed for four — both in the second over. It became 50-3 as Nitish Rana was dismissed for 11.

Samson, coming in as an impact substitute, did start off the season in style. He scored 50 off 26 balls, and put on 111 off 60 balls with Jurel as Rajasthan fought back on a good batting surface.

Jurel reached 50 off 28 balls at the other end, hitting six sixes and five fours as the chase revolved around him. Adam Zampa dismissed him in the 15th over, while Samson was out caught in the previous over.

It was too tall an ask for Rajasthan thereafter to chase down the mammoth target successfully despite fruitful cameos from Shimron Hetmyer (42 off 23 balls) and Shubham Dubey (34 not out off 11 balls).

Ahmad sprung into action after left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed took 3-29, including the dismissal of Rohit Sharma for a four-ball duck.

Spin did the trick on a slow Chepauk track as Mumbai never got into third gear in its opening game. It missed skipper Hardik Pandya, who was on the bench serving a slow over-rate suspension from 2024.

Stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav managed 29 off 26 balls, falling to Ahmad and a stumping by India great MS Dhoni, who returned to the IPL for Chennai at the age of 43.

Mumbai was down to 96-6 in 13 overs and then 118-7 in 16.1 overs.

Deepak Chahar, a former Chennai player making his Mumbai debut, scored 28 not out off 15 balls including two sixes to push the score past 150.

Chasing 156, Chennai was boosted by a 67-run partnership for the second wicket off only 37 balls between Gaikwad and Ravindra.

Gaikwad hit three sixes and six fours, reaching 50 off 22 balls. Mumbai struck back through 24-year-old left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur (3-32).

Chennai lost regular wickets to Puthur and Will Jacks but Ravindra helped his team reach the target in the 20th over. Dhoni was 0 not out and faced only two balls.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Chennai Super Kings' Noor Ahmad, center, celebrates with teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni the dismissal of Mumbai Indians' Tilak Verma, left, during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Chennai Super Kings' Mahendra Singh Dhoni steps out to bat during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Chennai Super Kings' Ravichandran Ashwin, left, celebrates with teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni the dismissal of Mumbai Indians' Will Jacks, right, during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Chennai Super Kings' Mahendra Singh Dhoni, right, talks to Mumbai Indians' young debutant Vignesh Puthur after Chennai Super Kings won the Indian Premier League cricket match against Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Chennai Super Kings' Rachin Ravindra celebrates after scoring fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Chennai Super Kings' Rachin Ravindra bats during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Chennai Super Kings' Noor Ahmad bowls a delivery during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Travis Head plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Travis Head plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Ishan Kishan celebrates after scoring a century during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Ishan Kishan plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Chennai Super Kings' captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, right, shakes hands with Mumbai Indians' captain Suryakumar Yadav after Chennai Super Kings won the Indian Premier League cricket match against Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/R. Parthibhan)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Ishan Kishan celebrates after scoring a century during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tage Thompson scored the go-ahead goal 1:23 into the third period, and Lindy Ruff became the NHL’s second coach to win 600 games with one franchise in the Buffalo Sabres’ 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

Jack Quinn and Jacob Bernard-Docker also scored for Buffalo, and James Reimer stopped 30 shots in winning two straight starts for the first time this season. Ruff is in the first season of his second stint in Buffalo, and improved his record with the franchise to 600-467-90 with 78 ties.

Ruff trails only Al Arbor, who won 740 games with the New York Islanders.

Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored power-play goals for the Senators. Anton Forsberg stopped 21 shots in an outing the Senators blew two one-goal leads.

MAPLE LEAFS 7, FLYERS 2

TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander and John Tavares each had two goals and two assists, and Toronto beat Philadelphia.

Bobby McMann, David Kampf and Max Domi also scored for Toronto, and Matthew Knies had two assists. Anthony Stolarz made 17 saves.

Ryan Poehling and Sean Couturier scored for Philadelphia, which lost its sixth straight. Samuel Ersson had 23 saves.

LIGHTNING 6, PENGUINS 1

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists to lead Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh.

Anthony Cirelli scored twice in the first period, Brandon Hagel and Ryan McDonagh both had a goal and an assist. Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 14 saves.

Tristan Jarry started in net for the Penguins but was pulled 16 minutes into the first period after allowing four goals on seven shots. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 18 shots in relief. Bryan Rust scored for Pittsburgh.

The Lightning scored four goals in the first period in the span of 3:47 to race out to the lead and never looked back.

PREDATORS 3, HURRICANES 1

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Luke Evangelista scored twice, Juuse Saros stopped 34 shots in his 200th career win, and Nashville beat Carolina.

Michael Bunting also scored for the Predators, who won for just the second time in seven games.

Taylor Hall scored for the Hurricanes, who lost their second straight after an eight-game win streak. Pyotr Kochetkov had 13 saves.

BLUES 6, CANADIENS 1

ST. LOUIS ( AP) — Philip Broberg and Robert Thomas each had a goal and three assists, and St. Louis beat Montreal to extend their active NHL-best winning streak to seven games.

Broberg recorded four points in a game for the first time. Coupled with Minnesota’s regulation home loss to Vegas, St. Louis is now two points back of the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Jordan Kyrou got his 31st goal of the season, Dylan Holloway, Alexandre Texier and Zack Bolduc also scored and Jordan Binnington made 24 saves for the Blues, who are now five points up on Vancouver for the second wild card.

The Canadiens lost their third in a row despite a quick-answer goal from captain Nick Suzuki 47 seconds after Kyrou opened the scoring late in the first period. They did not score again.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, WILD 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Jack Eichel posted his fifth career hat trick as Vegas defeated Minnesota.

Brett Howden also scored and Noah Hanifin and Mark Stone each had two assists for Vegas. Adin Hill made 23 saves for the Western Division-leading Golden Knights, who won their fourth straight.

Marcus Johansson scored a goal and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 shots for Minnesota, which lost for the second time in two nights.

JETS 3, CAPITALS 2, OT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Nikolaj Ehlers scored on a breakaway 1:28 into overtime and Winnipeg clinched a playoff spot, beating Washington in a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams.

Josh Morrissey and Mason Appleton also scored for the Jets, who swept the two-game season series with the Capitals — both wins coming in overtime. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 27 saves.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 889th goal to move six away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record, and Andrew Masngiapane also scored for the Capitals. Logan Thompson had 22 saves.

AVALANCHE 5, RED WINGS 2

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, Jonathan Drouin and Martin Necas had two assists apiece, and Colorado rolled past Detroit.

Devon Toews had a goal and two assists, and Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin and Logan O’Connor also scored for the Avalanche, which improved to 11-1-1 in its past 13 games.

J.T. Compher, who played for Colorado from 2016-23, and Austin Watson scored for the Red Wings.

MacKinnon, the NHL’s points leader, has a point in each of his past 22 home games, tying the longest home point streak in the NHL this season.

Mackenzie Blackwood saved 21 of Detroit’s 23 shots on goal.

FLAMES 4, KRAKEN 3, OT

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Nazem Kadri scored his second goal of the game 3:58 into overtime, sending Calgary to a victory over Seattle.

Adam Klapka and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Flames, who have won four straight. They are four points behind streaking St. Louis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with three games in hand.

Jaden Schwartz had a power-play goal and an assist for the Kraken, who lost their third in a row. Tye Kartye and Jordan Eberle also scored.

KINGS 3, RANGERS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Fiala scored twice, Darcy Kuemper stopped 22 shots, and Los Angeles beat New York.

Phillip Danault also scored as the Kings extended their home point streak to 15 games (12-0-3). Los Angeles is the second team in the NHL to have a home streak of at least 15 games, joining Washington (11-0-5).

J. T. Miller scored for New York, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 30 saves. The Rangers have lost four of their last five games.

Ottawa Senators center Tim Stützle (18) is hooked by Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram (4) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)