Punjab Kings booked a spot in the IPL 2025 final with an exciting five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, fueled by a brilliant unbeaten 87 by captain Shreyas Iyer.
PBKS will now take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the grand finale on Tuesday, a rerun encounter of their previous Qualifier 1 fixture.
With Mumbai's withdrawal, the IPL will have a new champion this season. Leading from the front, Iyer provided a scintillating display of talent and nerves of steel, anchoring a winning chase of 204 with an over to spare. His innings was a fine mixture of calculated aggression and aplomb in pressure situations that enabled PBKS to snatch a memorable victory.
Iyer's innings, interspersed with five boundaries and eight mighty sixes, overcame a nervous beginning and watched him build a crucial 84-run stand with Nehal Wadhera, who chipped in with a blistering 48 off merely 29 balls.
The win also set a personal milestone for Iyer in a rare manner—he has now led three different sides to the IPL finals. After leading Delhi Capitals to the final clash in 2020 and Kolkata Knight Riders to the final last year, Iyer now leads Punjab Kings to their first final after 2014, becoming the sole captain to do so with three different sides.
Powerful Chase After Early Setbacks
Pursuing a daunting 204, Prabhsimran Singh provided PBKS with an early boundary off Trent Boult but was dismissed in no time as he top-edged a pull to a diving short fine leg. Josh Inglis then stabilized the innings with a couple of creative boundaries off Boult.
Teenage Priyansh Arya brought some pace into the game with his flick and loft of Reece Topley for four and six respectively. But it was Inglis who really caught fire, thrashing Jasprit Bumrah for 20 runs in the fifth over, including a mixture of flicks, pulls, and a fortunate top-edge that went for six.
Mumbai fought back, though, as Arya cut one to mid-off off Ashwani Kumar, and Hardik Pandya got rid of Inglis with an astute off-cutter behind. PBKS reached 64/2 at the end of the powerplay, but the run chase slowed temporarily as Bumrah and Ashwani bowled tight lines.
Then Iyer's turn. Confronted with an increasing required rate, he released three successive sixes off Topley – the first pulled down over backward square leg, the second and third long down the ground and over long-on.
Wadhera added a couple of boundaries off Boult and a six down the ground off Ashwani. While he was also dismissed for 48, Iyer walked ahead, completing his half-century in 27 balls by taking Boult past backward point.
Despite a brief hiccup with Shashank Singh’s run-out, Iyer remained unshaken. He carved out late boundaries off yorkers and punished Ashwani Kumar with four massive sixes – two off a free-hit and two more in consecutive deliveries – sealing PBKS’ place in the final after an 11-year wait.
Mumbai’s Strong Start Dampened by Rain and Late Collapse
In the face of Iyer's heroics, Mumbai reached a fighting 203/6, powered by Suryakumar Yadav's brisk knocks along with Tilak Varma (both 44), as well as the late flourish by Naman Dhir (37 from 18), after two hours of rain disruptions and stoppages.
Mumbai took off to a brisk start after the early dismissal of Rohit Sharma by Marcus Stoinis. Varma and Jonny Bairstow came out all guns blazing, with Varma hitting the ropes off Stoinis and Bairstow picking boundaries off Arshdeep Singh and Azmatullah Omarzai. MI reached 65/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Bairstow's battle against slower balls finally came to an end when Vyshak Vijaykumar got him caught behind from a knuckle ball. Varma, unhindered, continued to tick the scoreboard over with elegant drives down the ground.
Suryakumar Yadav, scratchy in the early stages, got his touch back with two sixes and a four off Yuzvendra Chahal's spell. He reached the 700-run mark this season, before being sent back by Chahal while trying to sweep.
The quick dismissals of Suryakumar and Varma – both in the space of three deliveries – momentarily stalled MI’s progress. But Dhir played a crucial role at the death, smashing three fours off Arshdeep and targeting Omarzai along with Hardik Pandya to lift MI past the 200 mark.
A penalty for over-rate made PBKS retain just four boundary fielders in the last two overs, which Dhir capitalized on with elegant pulls and lofts. While he was ultimately got out by Omarzai, MI had done more than enough to post a strong total – or so they believed.
But in the end, Iyer’s sublime innings overshadowed Mumbai’s effort, taking Punjab into their second-ever IPL final with their sights now firmly on a maiden title.
Match Summary:
Mumbai Indians: 203/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 44, Tilak Varma 44, Naman Dhir 37; Azmatullah Omarzai 2/43, Marcus Stoinis 1/14)
Punjab Kings: 207/5 in 19 overs (Shreyas Iyer 87*, Nehal Wadhera 48; Ashwani Kumar 2/55, Hardik Pandya 1/19)
Result: Five-wicket win for Punjab Kings
Read also| IPL 2025: Suyash and Hazlewood Shine as RCB Crush PBKS to Reach Fourth Final
Read also| Djokovic Advances Smoothly in French Open 2025 with Straight-Sets Win Over McDonald
