Skipper’s unbeaten 87 seals five-wicket win over Mumbai in tense qualifier
Punjab Kings pulled off a stunning five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians to book their place in the IPL final for the first time in 11 years. Chasing 203 in Ahmedabad, captain Shreyas Iyer delivered a captain’s knock, finishing unbeaten on 87 off 41 balls and steering his side home with six balls to spare.
Punjab needed 24 from the final 13 balls when Iyer turned the game on its head. Facing left-arm seamer Ashini Kumar in the penultimate over, he launched four sixes — including one off a free-hit — to all but seal the match. His 84-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera (48 off 29) proved to be the backbone of the chase.
The innings had started with a wobble as Prabhsimran Singh fell early to Trent Boult. But Josh Inglis countered with a quickfire 38 off 21 balls, even taking Jasprit Bumrah for two sixes and a four in the opening over. Priyansh Arya chipped in with 20 off 10 before Punjab stumbled mid-innings. Iyer then shifted gears, smashing three consecutive sixes off Reece Topley in the 13th over to swing the momentum.
Earlier, Mumbai had posted 203 for 6 after electing to bat. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav top-scored with 44 each, while Jonny Bairstow (38) and Tim David (37* off 17) provided crucial late runs.
With the ball, Azmatullah Omarzai was the pick of Punjab’s attack, taking two wickets. Chahal, Stoinis, Jamieson, and Vyshak took one apiece.
Punjab Kings will now meet Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final as they chase their first-ever IPL trophy since finishing runners-up in 2014.