In this episode of the show, Raj, Baldy and Stu look back at week 5 of IPL 2025, which saw Mumbai and RCB make their moves, CSK start looking to next season and New Zealand Cricket invest in Major League Cricket in the USA.
We start this week with a check in about RCB. It's been a strange season for them so far - less hyped than previous years, struggles at home, but with a lot of the players in key positions all delivering on what's required. We talk about Virat Kohli's quietly impressive stats, Josh Hazlewood doing the business, Tim David's finishing, Krunal Pandya's key moments and whether it's time to load up on RCB stock before it is too late.
From there, we move to Mumbai's charge up the table thanks to Rohit Sharma's return to form, Suryakumar Yadav's consistency, a bag for Trent Boult and a bowling attack that looks so much more complete now that it features Jasprit Bumrah.
Then it's time to bounce around a few different topics - from the top 6 teams putting a gap between them and the rest, to left-handed openers like Priyansh Arya and Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the contrasting fortunes of teams like the Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings.
We round out the show with a discussion about New Zealand Cricket's investment in MLC in North America. Is international investment in franchise cricket a glimpse into the future of the game? How will it work in reality? Who could it benefit? Could we ever see something similar in the IPL?
We'll be back in your feed again soon with more IPL coverage. If you're enjoying our content then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website.
You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including conversations with Mike Hesson, Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Matt Henry, Sophie Devine and Ish Sodhi, coaches Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com.
Thanks for listening.
0:00 Intro
0:50 Is it time to invest in RCB & Virat Kohli?
6:35 Mumbai Indians on the charge
10:25 Net Run Rate and the top 6 breaking away
12:45 Can we put a line through CSK and RR?
14:30 Are the Sunrisers also done?
19:25 Do CSK need to look to the future?
22:00 Yashasvi Jaiswal's brilliance
23:35 Is 2025 the year of the specialists?
27:15 Priyansh Arya and the importance of composure
29:55 Why the hesitancy about DC?
36:15 New Zealand Cricket's investment in Major League Cricket
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