‘Maybe Marcus Stoinis is upset with something that is going around in PBKS camp': Rayudu blames Ricky Ponting and co.
Marcus Stoinis was purchased by PBKS for ₹11 crores, after a massive bidding war from his base price of ₹2 crores.
Having lost to PBKS by five wickets in their earlier meeting, RCB made a massive statement in the first innings of their return leg in Mullanpur. The Shreyas Iyer-led side had a massive batting collapse in the first innings. PBKS started strong in the powerplay, with Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar failing to find the right deliveries with the new ball. Then Krunal Pandya was introduced early and he got the first breakthrough in the fifth over, and since then PBKS failed to come up with a response through the middle overs. (PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2025 Live Score)
RCB spinners were in top form, with Krunal taking two wickets, and Suyash Sharma following suit. Meanwhile, stunning death-bowling from Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar saw RCB concede only 28 runs off the last four overs, as PBKS posted 157/6 in 20 overs.
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Marcus Stoinis, particularly, departed in a shocking manner and it came at a point when PBKS needed him for the finish. Coming in to bat at No. 7, Stoinis was sent to wrap up the innings on a strong note, but he departed after only two balls, for one run.
Receiving a slow googly from Suyash, Stoinis was beaten in flight and the ball turned to beat the inside edge, and then hit the stumps as PBKS crumbled at 114/6 in 13.5 overs. The same over saw Suyash also get Josh Inglis (29) in an earlier delivery.
Stoinis has been under pressure to perform, and hasn’t been able to justify his price tag. He was dropped for the recent KKR fixture too, at the last minute. In photos which went viral on social media, a dejected Stoinis could be seen receiving the news from head coach Ricky Ponting.
‘Maybe he is upset with something’: Ambati Rayudu
Analysing Stoinis’ dismissal and PBKS’ collapse, former cricketer Ambati Rayudu felt that the team atmosphere could be the reason behind it. Rayudu also blamed his low batting position, which puts the spotlight on team management. Ricky Ponting took over as PBKS head coach ahead of IPL 2025, and is under pressure to deliver.
“I think they are just not getting the balance right in terms of their intent and also no doubt, Krunal and Suyash bowled really well. But you would expect someone like Stoinis to pick a googly after all these years in international cricket. But that is something you don’t see often with top cricketers missing googlies. Maybe he is really not in the zone. Maybe he is upset with something that is going around in the team, or himself, or his batting position,” said Rayudu, while speaking on Star Sports.
Stoinis was purchased by PBKS for ₹11 crores, after a massive bidding war from his base price of ₹2 crores. PBKS broke the bank for Shreyas Iyer too, acquiring him for ₹26.75 crores and appointing him as captain.
