IPL 2025, Qualifier 2: ‘Captain unbelievable’ Shreyas Iyer steers Punjab Kings to final | Cricket News – Times of India

TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Shashank Singh, in an unique interview with TimesofIndia.com, had given Shreyas Iyer a brand new moniker: Punjab Kings’ “captain fantastic.” “He has his own swag, he has his own aura, and he backs his own instinct,” Shashank, who had performed with Iyer in age-group cricket in Mumbai, had to say about his IPL captain.On Sunday, in a rain-affected Qualifier 2, Shreyas Iyer displayed all the things that Shashank was speaking about. He did not have fun his half-century; he batted with surety, and it appeared like he was calculating the chase in his thoughts. Chasing 204, Iyer, who known as ‘sarpanch’ (head of the village) by Punjab Kings followers, took cost. In the thirteenth over bowled by Reece Topley, Shreyas hammered a hat-trick of sixes, every higher than the final one.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Iyer (87 not out off 41 balls; 5x4s, 8x6s) guided Punjab Kings to their first IPL final in 11 years. Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets on the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.Who’s that IPL participant?Punjab did get a flying begin from Priyansh Arya (20 off 10 balls) and No. 3 Josh Inglis (38 off 21 balls). Inglis, particularly, belted Bumrah for 20 runs in his first over. Not on a regular basis does Bumrah get that sort of therapy.But Iyer discovered an ready accomplice in Nehal Wadhera, who known as Ludhiana’s Yuvraj Singh. Wadhera scored a counter-attacking 29-ball 48 and cast an 84-run stand for the fourth wicket in simply 47 balls.

Shreyas Iyer etched his title within the historical past books. He turned the primary IPL captain to take three completely different groups to the IPL finals. Iyer had led Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020, guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024, and now has steered Punjab Kings. He can be the primary captain to lead two completely different groups in successive finals.Not to neglect, Mumbai Indians had by no means misplaced defending 200-plus, and now they have been knocked out doing so with an over to spare.

Earlier, it appeared just like the Shreyas Iyer-led crew had misplaced its steam after ending prime of the IPL factors desk. They had been blown away by a pink-sizzling Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 at Mullanpur, after which they gave away too many freebies in opposition to Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2.On Tuesday, they’ll have an opportunity to take revenge for the humiliation that they had to face in entrance of their residence crowd.Shreyas Iyer received the flip of the coin and, as a result of of the climate, opted to subject. The match was delayed for a pair of hours as a result of of the rain, however it lastly began, and there was no discount in overs.Mumbai Indians rode on an influence-packed begin from Jonny Bairstow and Tilak Varma, and a late flourish by Naman Dhir, to submit an imposing 203/6.Barring the primary over bowled by Arshdeep Singh, the Punjab outfit appeared utterly at sea. They had been wayward with the ball and abysmal within the subject. If this was not sufficient, PBKS had been later penalised for a sluggish over fee, and an additional fielder was introduced into the circle for the final two overs.Rohit Sharma received a reprieve within the second over after Azmatullah Omarzai dropped a tricky likelihood. It was not a simple catch as he had to again-pedal a great distance to attain it; he received each fingers to it however could not management it.The dropped catch did not value PBKS a lot, as Marcus Stoinis received the prized wicket and celebrated it by thumping his chest, which in all probability was the one time Punjab gamers celebrated with jubilation.Bairstow wasted no time in unleashing his trademark aggression. He took the assault to the Punjab bowlers proper from the outset, peppering the boundary ropes and racing to 38 off simply 24 deliveries. However, because the pitch started to grip and decelerate, PBKS managed to claw their method again. Vyshak Vijaykumar gave the breakthrough, eradicating Bairstow with a knuckle ball.The skilled duo of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav steadied the ship. Their 72-run partnership for the third wicket got here at a speedy tempo. Both batters appeared in management, mixing warning with aggression, earlier than Punjab struck at an important second — proper earlier than and after the second strategic timeout.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who was taking part in the match with an injection in his bowling hand, was despatched on a leather-based hunt by Suryakumar Yadav, however the veteran spinner received the battle. Suryakumar saved taking part in the sweep shot in opposition to Chahal, however the leggie had the final snigger. It was pushed within the air a bit of; Suryakumar went down on his knee and slog-swept it, however did not get the elevation, and Nehal Wadhera caught it close to deep mid-wicket.In a sudden twist, each Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma had been dismissed for equivalent scores of 44, halting MI’s momentum simply when it appeared like they’d surge previous 220.Naman Dhir’s late blitz supplied the final flourish. The swashbuckling batter smashed a quickfire 37 off simply 18 balls, peppering the off-facet and clearing the ropes to perfection. His knock ensured MI crossed the psychological 200-run mark.