IPL 2025: Shreyas Iyers Unbeaten 87 Powers Punjab Kings To Ultimate With 5-Wicket Win Over Mumbai Indians

Skipper Shreyas Iyer shined by slamming an unbeaten 87 off 4 balls as Punjab Kings entered the IPL 2025 ultimate with a five-wicket win over Mumbai in Qualifier 2 on the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. PBKS will now meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru within the title conflict on Tuesday, in what’s a re-match of Qualifier 1 assembly. 

MI being knocked out of the competitors additionally implies that IPL could have a brand new champion come Tuesday. Iyer stood tall with a knock stuffed with sheer class and immaculate composure, together with pacing it to close perfection, and acquired his crew over the road in a chase of 204 with an over to spare.

Aside from hitting 5 fours and eight sixes, Iyer overcame early fluency struggles to single-handedly make PBKS win by actually main from the entrance. He additionally shared a match-winning 84-run stand with Nehal Wadhera, who hit a blazing 29-ball 48.

Iyer has now captained two completely different groups – PBKS and Kolkata Knight Riders to back-to-back IPL finals. He additionally captained Delhi Capitals to IPL 2020 finals, and Qualifier 2’s end result has made him the one skipper to attain this fascinating feat.

Chasing 204, Prabhsimran Singh welcomed Trent Boult with a flicked 4, earlier than the left-arm pacer had the final snicker by having the right-handed batter top-edge a pull to a working quick advantageous leg. Josh Inglis ensured PBKS’ didn’t lose the plot early on by scooping and pulling Boult for 2 boundaries.

Priyansh Arya stepped up the attacking mantle by flicking Reece Topley for 4, earlier than lofting him for six. The spotlight of PBKS’ power-play got here within the fifth over when Inglis carted Jasprit Bumrah for 20 runs – a flicked 4 was adopted by a heaved six, earlier than one other flicked boundary and a top-edged most got here off his blade.

However MI bounced again from that little onslaught as pacer Ashwani Kumar had Arya slicing to mid-off, with PBKS ending power-play at 64/2. Shortly after, Hardik Pandya struck when his off-cutter took a skinny top-edge of Inglis’ pull and was caught by the keeper, with PBKS’ burning a evaluation on their in-form batter.

Although Iyer and Nehal Wadhera hit some boundaries, together with three coming off Hardik Pandya within the tenth over and the latter being dropped on 13 by Boult, Ashwani and Bumrah bowling tight eleventh and twelfth overs meant the asking fee pushed to 12. Sensing the necessity to get again within the chase, Iyer hit a hat-trick of sixes off Topley – a heave over backward sq. leg was adopted by two lofts going over long-on and down the bottom respectively.

It was adopted by Wadhera getting two boundaries off Boult, together with one coming off the vanguard. He then greeted Ashwani by slamming him down the bottom for six, earlier than the pacer struck by having the batter miscue to mid-off. Iyer marched on to deliver up his fifty off 27 balls by squeezing Boult by way of backward level for 4.

Although Shashank Singh was run-out cheaply, Iyer continued to open the bat face on the final second to get two boundaries off yorkers. He then lofted Ashwani excessive over long-on for six, and adopted it up by clobbering him over long-off on a free-hit. Iyer once more lofted Ashwani over long-on for six, earlier than launching him for an additional most to fireside PBKS into an IPL ultimate after 11 lengthy years.

Beforehand, after two hours and quarter-hour of rain enjoying cover and search, in addition to of oscillating between drizzle and heavy downpour, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Naman Dhir dished out excessive tempo knocks to assist MI put up a difficult 203/6.

Suryakumar and Varma hit knocks of 44 every whereas Dhir utilized ending touches with an 18-ball 37 to take MI previous 200-mark, regardless of a PBKS fightback in between. As soon as the sport started, PBKS had prompt success as Rohit Sharma, dropped on 4 within the second over, pulled to deep sq. leg off Marcus Stoinis.

After that, Varma and Jonny Bairstow introduced out massive pictures from the phrase go. Whereas Varma smacked Stoinis for a robust six over long-on fence, Bairstow – regardless of being outwitted by slower balls at occasions – acquired two fours off Arshdeep, together with off a top-edge, earlier than taking a boundary and 6 off Azmatullah Omarzai, as MI ended power-play at 65/1.

Bairstow’s troubles in opposition to slower balls continued in entrance of Vyshak Vijaykumar, who troubled him with it and ultimately had him caught behind off an tried scoop by way of a knuckle ball within the eighth over. Varma, although, ran after Vyshak – dispatching him down the bottom for 4, earlier than lofting elegantly over long-off for six.

Suryakumar, who struggled to time his scoops effectively, discovered his vary by taking two sixes and a 4 off a returning Yuzvendra Chahal’s second and third overs – the maximums coming off a sweep and loft down the bottom, whereas the boundary got here off a lower by way of backward level for 4.

After reaching out to slash and pull off Jamieson for 2 fours and go previous 700 runs on this season, Suryakumar lofted Chahal for a 4 and 6 every, earlier than the leg-spinner had the final snicker because the batter top-edged a sweep to deep mid-wicket. One introduced two for PBKS as Varma mistimed his loft to mid-on off Jamieson, as MI misplaced each of their set batters in simply three balls.

Dhir started including some impetus into the back-end of MI’s innings by taking three fours off Arshdeep, together with one coming off the top-edge, within the seventeenth over. He and Hardik Pandya took a 4 every off Omarzai, earlier than the latter top-edged a pull to the keeper on the final ball of the 18th over.

With Arshdeep lacking his lengths and PBKS compelled to place solely 4 fielders on the boundary ropes within the final two overs on account of over-rate penalty, Dhir nailed his pull and loft to choose two fours, earlier than heaving Omarzai for an additional boundary.

Although Dhir later hit straight to additional cowl off Omarzai, MI managed to cross the 200-run mark – one thing which was a terrific psychological benefit in a knockout sport. However Iyer’s blistering knock ensured PBKS put it apart and now have a shot at profitable their first IPL title.