Hardik Pandya sank to his knees after Shreyas Iyer hit the winning runs, leading the Punjab Kings to a five-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad. This win marks Punjab’s first entry into the IPL final since 2014, where they will face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on June 3.
Reflecting on the match, Pandya expressed his disappointment, acknowledging that he could have performed better as captain. “I take the blame,” he stated. “Shreyas played excellently and took his chances. We couldn’t execute our plan with the ball as we needed to, and it put us under pressure.”
Iyer played a key role in the chase, scoring an impressive 87 not out off just 41 balls, including five fours and eight sixes. His performance was pivotal in Punjab successfully chasing down Mumbai’s total of 204 with an over to spare. The team needed a steady hand, and Iyer delivered, combining smart aggression with calmness under pressure.
Nehal Wadhera also contributed significantly with a vital 48 runs from 29 balls, forming a crucial partnership of 84 runs with Iyer for the fourth wicket. Wadhera was fortunate to get two lives during his innings, first when Naman Dhir failed to catch a ball at deep midwicket and later when Trent Boult dropped a catch at fine leg.
Josh Inglis helped set the tone for Punjab with a quick 38 runs off 21 balls, especially targeting Jasprit Bumrah in the final over of the powerplay. Bumrah’s performance was disappointing, finishing with figures of 0 for 40 in four overs, as Mumbai’s bowlers struggled to find their rhythm.
Earlier, Mumbai managed to post 203 for six in a rain-affected match, with Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma each scoring 44 runs. Naman Dhir added a quick 37 off just 18 balls. Despite a rain delay of over two hours, the game continued without any overs being lost.
While Mumbai seemed to have the upper hand at the halfway mark, Punjab’s chase, spearheaded by Iyer and supported by key contributions, secured their place in the final with a solid performance.
