Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Titans to enter the second step of the playoffs
There was a sense of excitement in the air as we eagerly looked forward to an intense Qualifier 2 clash between the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Ahmedabad. Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field first. However, just as things were building up in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Playoffs, the covers were pulled on due to rain, delaying the start of the game.
Both teams made one change each to their playing XI as they stand just one step away from reaching the IPL final. While there’s still hope for a shortened game if conditions improve, a complete washout would result in Punjab Kings advancing to the summit clash, owing to their higher position in the points table.
PBKS XI: Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Impact Players: Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Harpreet Brar.
MI XI: Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow (w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Reece Topley.
Impact Players: Ashwani Kumar, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Bevon Jacobs.
Mumbai Indians seemed to be destined for another dud of a season when the tourney began. They lost four of their first five matches, and it looked as if they would finish in the bottom half just like in IPL 2024, but that didn’t happen.
They turned things around in dramatic fashion once they beat Delhi Capitals in a thriller at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The 12-run win was the trigger Hardik Pandya’s men were wishing for as they went on to win six matches in a row and lost just two more times for the rest of the season. They easily pipped other teams to the fourth and final playoffs spot with a second win over DC.
In the Eliminator, they bowled with a plan and batted with purpose to beat the Gujarat Titans dominantly. They are set to face Punjab Kings, who suffered a jolt in the Qualifier 1 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after being all out for 101 and then losing the match by eight wickets.
It was not the case for PBKS until then. They became the third-ever T20 side to score seven 200-plus scores while batting first in a single edition of a tournament. Shreyas Iyer’s team were excellent with the ball and even better with the bat as they won nine out of 14 league matches and lost four games.
As they plan to win the crucial Qualifier 2 and reach their first final since 2014, the Punjab Kings received bad news in Ahmedabad.
Their practice session on Saturday evening was scrapped due to the visibility being too low and the rain being consistent throughout the day.
Ahmedabad was also the host city when the last phase game of an IPL season had to be shifted. The IPL 2023 final between GT and Chennai Super Kings was played across two days after the first day’s play was cancelled due to heavy showers.
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For IPL 2025, the governing council had picked Hyderabad and Kolkata for the last four games. But they had to move them to Mullanpur and Ahmedabad on the Western side of the country due to inclement weather on the side of the Bay of Bengal. While the weather for Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator was perfect, a complete wash-out of Qualifier 2 will put Punjab Kings at an advantage.
There is a reserve day for the final on June 3, but there is none for the playoffs. In case of bad weather, the match can also begin two hours after the scheduled start time of 7:30 PM (IST), according to the IPL statement released on May 20.
However, if Qualifier 2 is washed out, then Punjab Kings will qualify for the final. According to the rules, the team with a higher finish in the points table will go through in case of a No Result.
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