A fleeting hiccup in Qualifier 1 threatened to derail what had been a stellar campaign. But in that moment of truth, in Qualifier 2, Shreyas Iyer heroically led from the front, standing tall like the Rock of Gibraltar in a record chase against Mumbai Indians. Destiny had a name, and in Shreyas Iyer on Sunday night at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the IPL found its newest hero.
Shreyas Iyer unbeaten 87 off 41 balls might just be the knock of IPL 2025 – unless someone produces a ridiculously crazy innings in the final on Tuesday (June 3). And even then, it will take some doing to eclipse the Punjab skipper’s feat. Few would have pressed on the gas when there was an exact need of it in the chase of 204.
Eight sixes in an innings may not be unprecedented but smashing them in a high stakes game like the ‘semifinal’ takes some doing. Shreyas Iyer swatted them away – like flies, after walking in at 55/2 and taking his time to get his eye in before steadying the ship and calmly guiding PBKS to an all-important five-wicket win.
Shreyas Iyer leads the way for PBKS with a stellar knock
IPL 2025 will have a first-time winner. Amidst an already dreamy season, Shreyas Iyer led the way in Punjab Kings’ five-wicket victory against IPL big boys Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier, to set up a Q1 rematch – against RCB – in the title clash.
In a rain-delayed fixture in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir stood out to push MI to a 200-plus total. PBKS however, made a timely recovery from their abysmal batting performance in Q1 to remain calm and execute the first-ever successful run-chase of 200 or more against MI in IPL history. With a stirring 87* off 41, Shreyas Iyer also became the first-ever captain to lead a third franchise to the IPL final. This will be Punjab’s second IPL final, the first coming 11 years ago in 2014.
The Qualifier 2 started after a lengthy rain delay and it was MI who were put into bat by PBKS. Mumbai got a good start thanks to Jonny Bairstow and Tilak Verma and the innings was given momentum by Suryakumar Yadav’s 44. Towards the back- end of the innings, Naman Dhir played a blinder to get them to 203 in 20 overs.
In response, Punjab lost Prabhsimran Singh early before Josh Inglis took the attack to the Mumbai bowlers and dispatched Jasprit Bumrah for 20 runs in his first over. Inglis and Priyansh did fall quickly but then Shreyas Iyer played a captain’s knock alongside Wadhera to get the team over the line.
Fittingly, it was Shreyas Iyer who hit the winning runs as PBKS will head to the final on June 3 against RCB. The magnitude of Shreyas Iyer’s ballistic 87 runs left an impression on the opposition too and MI skipper Hardik Pandya readily accepted it after the match.
Hardik Pandya hails Shreyas Iyer’s valiant effort
Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya praised his opposite number Shreyas Iyer for his ‘outstanding’ shot-making and Punjab Kings (PBKS)’ overall composure, while rueing his side’s poor execution of bowling plans for the five-wicket defeat in the second Qualifier of IPL 2025 in Ahmedabad.
In a match that was delayed for two hours by rain, MI put up a par score of 203/6 in the first innings, led by twin 44-run knocks from Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. The five-time champions looked in control in the second half, too, having reduced PBKS to 72/3 before the eighth over began.
But Shreyas Iyer rose to the occasion, playing a captain’s knock for the ages. His 41-ball unbeaten 87 was laced with five fours and eight sixes. He found good suport from Nehal Wadhera’s 48 (29) but though the latter got out in the 16th over, Shreyas Iyer carried on and finished the match with six balls to spare.
“The way Shreyas batted, took his chances and some of the shots he played were really outstanding and I think they definitely batted really well,” Pandya said in the post-match presentation.
“I think it was par, but it needed some great execution as a bowling unit, which I think in these big games really matters, and as I mentioned, they were really calm, put us under pressure and I think we were not able to execute the way we wanted. I will not put it on the wicket — if we had to do something better, it was maybe someone bowling right lengths or maybe a right bowler at the right point, the result could have been a bit different,” he added.
As expected, Jasprit Bumrah’s usage was key to MI’s fortunes. He was hit for 20 runs by Josh Inglis in his first over and went wicketless for 40 runs in the total quota.
Pandya was asked whether giving Bumrah the 17th over and not the 18th could have been a better choice.
“In hindsight, it would have been different and it would have been too early as well. Boom, knowing the situation, if even 18 balls are left, Jassi can be Jassi and he can do something special and it just didn’t happen today,” he said.
Shreyas Iyer’s super show with the bat helped PBKS qualify for the IPL 2025 final, and the right-handed batter also became the first captain in the world to lead three different teams to the IPL final. Under Iyer’s captaincy, Delhi Capitals featured in the final in 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and PBKS in 2025.
He is also the first and only captain to qualify for back-to-back IPL finals with two different teams. In the IPL 2025 final, PBKS will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The PBKS-RCB match is scheduled to take place at Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday (June 3).
Also Read: MI vs PBKS : Shikhar Dhawan Picks The Winner Between Upcoming MI & PBKS Encounter