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) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. For Rajasthan, the fixture carried little weight in terms of qualification, as they had already been knocked out of the playoff race. However, for Punjab, it was a must-win match to stay in the coveted playoff berth.

BBL hero Mitchell Owen’s IPL debut ends in a duck for Punjab Kings

Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first on what looked like a dry, hard Jaipur surface. The big pre-match buzz centered around the debut of Australian domestic batting sensation Mitchell Owenwho was handed his first IPL cap. Owen had replaced Glenn Maxwell in the PBKS squad, and his inclusion raised eyebrows and expectations. His performances in the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL) had turned heads.

Despite the optimism surrounding his selection, Owen’s IPL debut turned into a bitter disappointment. Coming in with hopes of repeating his BBL heroics, the right-hander was dismissed for a duck on just his second ball. Facing The more of theOwen attempted to take on a back-of-length delivery angled across him, trying to hit it down the ground. Instead, he got a top edge that soared high into the Jaipur sky before Sanja Samson safely completed the catch. It was a crushing moment not only for Owen but for PBKS, as the highly anticipated debut was over before it even began.

Owen had ended the BBL 14 season as the highest run-scorer and was instrumental in Hobart Hurricanes’ maiden title win, especially in the final where his explosive century against Sydney Thunder became an instant classic. But his dismissal for a duck not only deflated expectations but also triggered a wave of trolling on social media, with many mocking his inability to deliver on the big stage.  Memes and sarcastic posts flooded platforms like X (formerly Twitter) mocking his golden duck and labeling him ‘BBL fraud,”.  Many pointed out the irony of his record-breaking BBL form falling flat in his very first IPL outing.

Here’s how fans reacted: