IPL 2025: Qualifier 2 between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians delayed due to rains

AHMEDABAD: The Qualifier 2 between the five-time champions Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 has been delayed due to rain at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Rain poured just after the toss, which the PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer had won and elected to bowl first.

After winning the toss, Shreyas said, “We are going to bowl first. Slightly overcast, and the wicket was under the covers yesterday. Based on these, we are going to bowl first. It’s a fresh day. We’ve recovered pretty well and rejuvenated, and our mindset is to go out there and win. Boys are in high spirits, and everyone’s thinking positively. The environment in the dressing room is top-notch at the moment, so I can’t complain much. Yuzi comes in.”

At the time of toss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya said,”We also would have bowled first. We need to bat well and assess the conditions. It has got flatter. If you bowl well, you’ll get some help. In a lot of areas, we could have got better. One day break, it’s tough, but we know what to execute. We came very early in the morning after the game, and most of the guys focused on recovery. We had to make one change. Topley comes in, Gleeson has a niggle.”

The winner of this game will face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final of the 18th edition of the cash-rich league on Tuesday, June 3, at the same venue. In their previous match, Punjab Kings suffered a 6-wicket defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with Marcus Stoinis contributing 25 runs.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians advanced to this stage after beating the Gujarat Titans by 20 runs, courtesy of Rohit Sharma’s crucial knock of 81. Punjab and Mumbai have played 32 IPL matches against each other so far. MI have won 17 and PBKS 15. In IPL 2025, these teams have won one match each.

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Reece Topley.

Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Ashwani Kumar, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Bevon Jacobs.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Mandya Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Harpreet Brar. (ANI)