PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer with Marcus Stoinis (Image via AP /Ajit Solanki)
Ahmedabad: Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer unleashed a masterclass under pressure, smashing 87 off just 41 balls (5x4, 8x6) to power his team to an epic win over Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, sealing PBKS’ first IPL final appearance in 11 years.
Iyer and southpaw Nehal Wadhera played out MI’s trump card Jasprit Bumrah without conceding a wicket and stitched together an 84-run partnership that proved decisive after PBKS were reduced to 72/3. Iyer’s knock featured three consecutive sixes off Reece Topley and a grand finish with three more maximums off Ashwani Kumar. In between, he showed his finesse by guiding a Bumrah middle-stump yorker to the third-man boundary.
Iyer had walked in after the dismissal of Priyansh Arya (20).
Iyer's trailblazing knock ensured that PBKS crossed the finish line
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav (44 off 26 balls; 4x4, 3x6), Tilak Varma (44), and Naman Dhir (37) helped MI, who were invited to bat first, post a competitive 203/6. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh began with a tight opening over. MI opener Jonny Bairstow (38), realising there was little movement off the pitch, which had remained under covers for over two hours due to intermittent rain, wasted no time in launching Kyle Jamieson for a six over long leg in the second over.
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In the same over, Azmatullah Omarzai dropped a tough, running chance at short third man after Rohit Sharma mistimed a cut. Sharma then lofted Marcus Stoinis over his head for a boundary, before falling to a simple catch by Vijaykumar Vyshak at deep square leg. No. 3 Tilak Varma (44) and Bairstow added 51 for the second wicket. The southpaw smashed Stoinis for a maximum over long-on, while Bairstow dominated the stand with powerful shots.
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The Englishman drove Arshdeep through the covers and top-edged him for another four before striking Omarzai for a boundary and a six over midwicket. MI ended the Powerplay at 65/1. Vyshak, introduced after the Powerplay, bowled with discipline. A scrambled seam delivery outfoxed Bairstow’s attempted scoop and landed safely in Josh Inglis’s gloves.
Bairstow’s dismissal brought MI’s most consistent batter of the season, Suryakumar Yadav, to the crease. He, along with Varma, added 72 runs in 42 balls, with Yadav especially aggressive against Yuzvendra Chahal, who was returning from injury. Yadav swept and lofted the leg-spinner for three sixes before falling to a deep midwicket catch by Wadhera—his fourth dismissal to Chahal in IPL history.'Who's that IPL player?PBKS clawed back with another quick wicket, that of Varma. Naman Dhir (37 off 18 balls; 7x4) helped MI cross the psychological 200-run mark. But they did not account for Shreyas’s stunning knock.
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