Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 2: Punjab Kings (PBKS) have sealed their place in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for the first time in 11 years, thanks to a commanding performance from skipper Shreyas Iyer, who played a match-winning knock of 87 not out off 41 balls. PBKS defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by five wickets in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday.
After choosing to bowl first, PBKS restricted Mumbai Indians to 203/6. Despite a few stumbles early in the chase, Iyer led from the front with a calm and explosive innings that saw his team chase down the target with an over to spare.
PBKS bowling coach James Hopes heaped praise on Iyer’s composure and leadership during a high-pressure chase.
“Shreyas was 24 off 20 at one stage, then flicked the switch, as he has done before. It was a true skipper’s knock,” Hopes said.
Hopes explained that the team had planned to chase on the batting-friendly Ahmedabad pitch and had contingency plans involving the impact player rule.
“We came into the game knowing we wanted to bat second. It gave us the flexibility we needed,” he added.
Josh Inglis and Nehal Wadhera also made key contributions with the bat, scoring 38 off 21 and 48 off 29 respectively. Inglis’s aggressive start, including 20 runs off Jasprit Bumrah in a single over, shifted the momentum early in PBKS’s favour.
“To take 40 off Bumrah across four overs is something we’d take any day,” said Hopes.
Mumbai’s innings was built around useful knocks from Jonny Bairstow (38), Tilak Varma (44), Suryakumar Yadav (44), and Naman Dhir (37). For PBKS, Azmatullah Omarzai was the most successful bowler with 2/43, while Stoinis, Jamieson, Chahal, and Vyshak picked up a wicket each.
PBKS will now face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2025 final on Tuesday, also at the Narendra Modi Stadium.