Punjab Kings were in the mood for banter as they dominated the social media game during their IPL 2025 opener against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. While their batters went hammer and tongs on the field, their social media team was equally explosive on X. Seizing the moment, Punjab took a cheeky dig at Gujarat Titans’ sloppy fielding with a popular meme featuring former Pakistan cricketers Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik.
The incident unfolded in the second over of the match when Priyansh Arya top-edged a delivery from Kagiso Rabada, who was making his debut for Gujarat Titans. Priyansh, an aggressive Delhi batter, was going all out in his IPL debut but failed to connect cleanly with the ball. | GT vs PBKS Live Updates |
As the ball soared into the night sky, it seemed certain that Priyansh’s innings was about to end. However, Rashid Khan and Arshad Khan both sprinted back from inside the circle in an attempt to complete the catch. Rashid, running from mid-on, appeared to leave it for Arshad, while the left-arm pacer seemed to expect Rashid to take charge. The result? A complete mix-up, and the ball landed harmlessly on the ground between them.
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Rashid was visibly frustrated, but both fielders were at fault for failing to communicate effectively in their pursuit of the catch.
The drop proved costly as Priyansh Arya, who had a reprieve on 6, went on to hit 47 off 23 balls. He smashed seven boundaries and two sixes in an entertaining knock and grew in confidence as he started to time the ball well.
Punjab Kings shared the popular meme, which referred to the infamous drop catch in a match between Pakistan and the West Indies in 2009.
The infamous dropped catch involving Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik occurred during the third ODI between Pakistan and West Indies in Abu Dhabi in 2008. In the sixth over, West Indies captain Chris Gayle mistimed a shot, sending the ball high into the air. Both Ajmal and Malik converged under the descending ball, leading to a moment of miscommunication. Malik called for the catch, prompting Ajmal to back off by crouching down, expecting Malik to complete the catch. However, Malik also hesitated, resulting in the ball landing untouched between them.
Gujarat Titans, however, fought back with the ball, removing Prabhsimran Simran Singh in the powerplay. Kagiso Rabada picked up his first wicket for Gujarat Titans with the wicket of the wicketkeeper-batter.
Priyansh Arya fell in the seventh over after top-edging a googly from Rashid Khan, gifting the Afghanistan spinner his wicket in the 7th over.
Sai Kishore struck twice in an over, removing Azmatullah Omarzai and Glenn Maxwell in the 11th over to hurt Punjab Kings’ momentum. However, Shreyas Iyer counter-attacked, getting to his fifty in just 27 balls to lead the visitors’ charge.
