The clash between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow is the 40th Match of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) and marks exactly a month to the competition starting.With the tournament at its mid-season mark, the race for both the orange and purple caps is firmly heating up.

While few players have had a season to forget, many top-class players have brought out the best of the game so far and lit up the competition. Have a look at our mid-season team of the tournament - Sai Sudharshan - Sai Sudharshan, who set the record for being the quickest Indian to complete 1000 IPL runs, has taken his game to another level this year.

The 23-year-old is the only player to complete 400 runs this season and has been key to Gujarat Titans' (GT) near flawless run so far. Played - 8 Runs - 417 100/50 - 0/5Average - 52.12 SR - 152.18 Jos Buttler: After the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) shocking decision to release him, Jos Buttler has started of GT from where he left off for GT. The former England captain has been at his consistent best in the season so far and ensured the Titans' continued to fire. Played - 8Runs - 356100/50 - 0/3Average - 71.20SR - 165.58 Nicholas Pooran - Nicholas Pooran has continued his red-hot form in T20 cricket in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) and justified Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) decision to spend Rs. 21 crore to retain and later promote him to number three in the batting order. The West Indian star has been key to LSG's impressive start to the season despite the bowling attack struggling with injuries and skipper Rishabh Pant's poor form. Played - 9Runs - 377100/50 - 0/4Average - 47.13SR - 203.89Suryakumar Yadav - Suryakumar Yadav came into the tournament with concerns over his form, but has got back among the runs as the tournament progressed. With Mumbai Indians (MI) staging an impressive comeback after a poor start to the season, the Indian T20I skipper is looking close to his best and once again emerging as the best middle order batter in the tournament. Played - 8Runs - 333100/50 - 0/2Strike-rate - 162.43KL Rahul (WK) - KL Rahul has come into this debut season for Delhi Capitals (DC) as a different player, and despite his position being constantly shuffled, he has emerged as one of the top batters in the tournament. Although, the wicket-keeper batter has opened and batted at number three in one match each, most of his success, including the iconic knock vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) came in the middle order, while batting at number four. Rahul also won the Player of the Match (POTM) award in DC's win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk. Played - 6Runs - 266100/50 - 0/2Average - 53.20 Strike-Rate - 158.23Hardik Pandya (C): Hardik Pandya has at his sensational best with bat and ball in the 2025 IPL despite Mumbai Indians (MI) starting the season with four defeats in five matches. The MI skipper has taken 11 wickets in the 2025 IPL so far, including a five-wicket haul vs LSG, which was the first instance of a captain achieving the same in the tournament's history. He is the 2025 IPLs' best performing captain so far and the only one to make our team. Played - 7Runs - 104 Strike-Rate - 170.49Wickets - 11Economy Rate - 8.904/5 Wicket Haul - 0/1Ashutosh Sharma - While the 2025 IPL has been so far dominated by top order batters and batting has been tough for lower-order batters in slog overs, Ashutosh Sharma has emerged as an exception and continued to be near flawless as a finisher for the second season in a row post his heroics for Punjab Kings this season. Ashutosh's unbeaten 66 helped DC beat LSG by one-wicket in one of IPL's greatest match in the first match of the season for both teams. Played - 7Runs - 136100/50 - 0/1Average - 45.33Strike-Rate - 178.94Kuldeep Yadav - After playing a key role in India's 2025 Champions Trophy win, Kuldeep Yadav has been at his lethal best for DC in the 2025 IPL. The star Indian spinner is the only bowler in the tournament's top 50 wicket-takers with an economy rate less than seven. Played - 7Wickets - 12Economy Rate - 6.254/5 Wicket-Hauls Noor Ahmad - In what has been a disastrous season for CSK so far, Noor Ahmad has emerged as a shining light. The Afghanistan star has taken the stage by storm in his debut season for the franchise after a whopping Rs. 10 crore purchase at the auction. The 20-year-old won the Player of the Match (POTM) on his CSK debut against arch-rivals MI with a four-wicket haul.Played - 8 Wickets - 12 Economy - 7.664/5 Wicket-Hauls - 0/1Josh Hazlewood - Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) bowling attack has emerged as their strength after years of the franchise struggling with the department. Josh Hazlewood has been key to the success after being purchased for a whopping Rs. 12.5 crore auction. Played - 8 Wickets - 12Economy Rate - 8.394/5 Wicket-Hauls - 0/0Prasidh Krishna - After missing the last two seasons of the IPL due to injury for RR, Prasidh Krishna has taken the stage by storm and emerged as the star of GT's bowling attack. The Indian pacer holds the purple cap at the half-way of the season. Played - 8Wickets - 16Economy Rate - 7.294/5 Wicket-Hauls - 1/0Impact Player: R Sai Kishore- While Rashid Khan struggled in the 2025 IPL, Sai Kishore has justified GT's decision to use the Right to Match (RTM) card on him and ensured that the Shubman Gill-led spin attack is still one of the best in the league despite Rashid being far from the best. After playing just 11 games in his IPL career coming into this season, Kishore has played every match this year and spun a web against every opponent. Played - 8Wickets - 12Economy - 8.224/5 Wicket-Hauls - 0/0Near Misses - Virat Kohli - (322 runs in eight matches with four half-centuries) Mohammed Siraj - (12 wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 8.84