IPL 2025: Shreyas Iyer Leads Punjab Kings to First IPL Final in 11 Years as Mumbai Indians' Campaign Ends in Qualifier 2

Shreyas Iyer scored an unbeaten 87 to lead Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final as they beat Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Sunday (June 1). The result means PBKS have reached their first IPL final in 11 years as they last played the summit clash in 2014. (PBKS v MI HIGHLIGHTS)

Chasing 204 to win, Shreyas did more than enough to get them home as he scored an attacking half-century to ensure they got over the line in 19 overs. MI thought they had enough on the board to defend but Iyer made it seem like they were at least 20 runs short. 

Josh Inglis (38) and Nehal Wadhera (48) also chipped in with valuable contributions but it was Iyer whose knock will be remembered as he almost single-handedly not only kept PBKS in the game, but also finished the game off in style, slamming a 6 to end the match. 

In the end, MI were left ruing a missed opportunity to make it to the final but it was hard to argue against PBKS being the more deserving team on the night. 

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Surya-Tilak Show Gives MIU Hope

The expectation before the match was that the pitch would be batter-friendly, but even in conditions favouring the batters someone needs to step up and take advantage. That is exactly what Suryakumar Yadav (44 off 26 balls) and Tilak Varma (44 off 29 balls) did for MI. 

Both of them kept the scoring rate going in the middle overs after Jonny Bairstow had given the team another quick start in the powerplay. Even when SKY and Tilak were dismissed, Naman Dhir finished strong with 37 off 18 to ensure they had a defendable total. 

On a pitch where the bowlers had precious little to work with, PBKS' bowlers did struggle for large periods but would have been pleased with the job they did, even if in the end it proved to be not enough. 

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Rain Nearly Plays Spoilsport

The start of the match was delayed due to a rain shower that started just before the scheduled start time of 7:30 PM IST. 

The start-stop nature of the showers impacted the game getting underway and it was not until 9:45 PM IST that the game finally got underway - having lost no overs. 

In the end, fans got to witness a thrilling game in Ahmedabad - and the final is between two teams who have yet to win an IPL title, meaning one side is set to break their jinx on June 3.