Shreyas Iyer delivered a captain’s innings for the ages, smashing an unbeaten 87 off just 41 balls to guide Punjab Kings (PBKS) into the IPL 2025 final with a thrilling five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. PBKS will now face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a high-stakes rematch of Qualifier 1, with a new IPL champion set to be crowned on Tuesday.
Chasing a formidable 204, Iyer was the architect of Punjab’s chase — overcoming a slow start to unleash a calculated assault, featuring five boundaries and eight towering sixes. He stitched together a crucial 84-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera (48 off 29), which turned the tide in PBKS’ favour.
This win also marks a remarkable personal milestone for Iyer, who becomes the first captain to lead three different franchises — Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and now PBKS — into IPL finals.
Iyer’s Masterclass Seals the Deal
Punjab’s chase got off to a mixed start. Prabhsimran Singh flicked a four but was soon dismissed by Trent Boult. Josh Inglis kept the scoreboard ticking, launching a mini-onslaught against Jasprit Bumrah with 20 runs in one over. Priyansh Arya added fireworks with a six and four off Reece Topley, but MI clawed back with timely wickets from Hardik Pandya and Ashwani Kumar.
At 90/3 midway through the chase, the required rate began climbing. Iyer, reading the moment perfectly, turned up the heat with three successive sixes off Topley, and Wadhera joined in with aggressive strokes of his own. Even after Wadhera and Shashank Singh departed, Iyer maintained composure and intensity, hitting a flurry of boundaries and sixes, especially off Ashwani Kumar, to finish the match with six balls to spare.
Mumbai Set the Stage with Power-Hitting
Earlier, after rain delays of over two hours, Mumbai Indians posted 203/6 thanks to fluent knocks from Suryakumar Yadav (44), Tilak Varma (44), and a fiery 37 off 18 balls by Naman Dhir. Despite losing Rohit Sharma early, Mumbai reached 65/1 in the powerplay, courtesy of attacking intent from Bairstow and Varma.
Suryakumar dazzled in the middle overs, especially against Yuzvendra Chahal, but PBKS hit back with key breakthroughs from Kyle Jamieson and Marcus Stoinis. In the death overs, Dhir’s late blitz and a brief cameo from Hardik Pandya helped MI breach the 200-run mark, boosted by a reduced boundary restriction penalty on PBKS due to slow over rates.
But despite the strong total, Iyer’s poise and power hitting eclipsed it, steering Punjab Kings to their first IPL final since 2014 and keeping their dream of a maiden title very much alive.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians – 203/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar 44, Varma 44; Omarzai 2/43, Stoinis 1/14)
Punjab Kings – 207/5 in 19 overs (Iyer 87*, Wadhera 48; Ashwani Kumar 2/55, Pandya 1/19)
Result: PBKS won by 5 wickets
