Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings are facing Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Punjab Kings Eye First Final Since 2014
Punjab is eager to book a spot in the final – something they haven’t done since 2014 – and is still chasing their maiden IPL title. They had a chance to reach the final earlier this week but were heavily beaten by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1. Bowled out for just 101 runs, Punjab lost that match by 8 wickets and now need to bounce back strongly.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians come into this clash with confidence after defeating the Gujarat Titans by 20 runs in the Eliminator. The five-time champions will back themselves to beat Punjab and reach yet another final.
Just before the start of today’s game, there was a minor scare involving Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer. As the players walked onto the field, light rain began to fall. Iyer, in a playful mood, ran around near the fireworks setup. During the fun moment, something seemed to get in his eye, causing brief discomfort. Thankfully, it wasn’t serious, and he was fine shortly afterward.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. But just before the match could begin, rain interrupted play in Ahmedabad.
Punjab Kings won the toss against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 and decided to bowl first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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— crictalk (@crictalk7) June 1, 2025
Shreyas Iyer won the toss
At the toss, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer explained the decision, saying: “We are going to bowl first. Slightly overcast and the wicket was under the covers as well. It’s a fresh game, our mindset is to go out and win. The environment is top-notch. Yuzi comes in.”
MI captain Hardik Pandya said he would have preferred to bowl as well: “We also would have bowled first. We need to bat well and assess the conditions. It has got flatter. If you bowl well, you’ll get some help. A lot of areas we could have got better.”
He also shared an update on the team’s preparation and lineup change: “One day break, it’s tough but we know what to execute. We came very early morning after the game, most of the guys focused on recovery. We had to make one change. Topley comes in, Gleeson has a niggle.”
PBKS vs MI, IPL 2025: Impact Players And Playing XIs For Qualifier 2
PBKS: Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Harpreet Brar
MI: Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Reece Topley
MI: Ashwani Kumar, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Bevon
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