PBKS Qualifier 1 mein RCB ke haathon buri tarah hara tha, jab unki batting ekdum flop ho gayi aur wo sirf 101 run pe dher ho gaye. League stage mein unhone toh dhoom machayi thi, 14 mein se 9 match jeet kar table top kiya, par uss haar ne unka confidence thoda hila diya. Lekin captain Shreyas Iyer ne toss ke time kaha, “Hum recovered aur rejuvenated hain, dressing room ka mahaul ekdum mast hai.” Chahal, jo wrist injury ke wajah se last teen match miss kiya tha, wapas aaya hai aur team mein ekdum josh bhar diya. Usne left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar ki jagah li, aur pace attack mein Vyshak Vijaykumar ko Prabhsimran Singh ke badle daala gaya, jo shayad impact sub ke roop mein chase mein aayega.
PBKS ka pehle bowling ka decision isliye tha kyunki pitch thodi covered thi aur overcast weather mein bowlers ko thodi help mil sakti hai. Team ka confidence unke pehle MI ke khilaaf jeet se bhi hai, jab Jaipur mein unhone 185 ka target aaram se chase kar liya tha. Us matchJune 01, 2025 match mein Arshdeep Singh aur Harpreet Brar ne MI ko 184/7 pe roka tha, aur Josh Inglis (73 off 42) aur Priyansh Arya (62 off 35) ne batting mein aag laga di thi. Ab PBKS apne is josh aur disciplined bowling ke saath MI ko phir se haraane ka plan bana raha hai, jismein Arshdeep, Chahal, Kyle Jamieson aur Vyshak lead karenge.
MI Ka Game Plan
MI ke captain Hardik Pandya bhi pehle bowling chahte the, kyunki Ahmedabad ki pitch ab ekdum flat aur batter-friendly ho chuki hai. 2025 IPL mein yahan ke saare 7 match mein 195+ runs bane hain, aur Pitch No. 7 pe average score 221 hai, jismein 6 baar pehle batting wali team jeeti. Lekin toss haarne ke baad MI ko pehle batting karni padegi. Eliminator mein Gujarat Titans ke khilaaf 20-run ki jeet ke baad (jahan Rohit Sharma ne 81 off 50 aur Jonny Bairstow ne 47 off 22 banaye), MI thodi thaki hui hai par full josh mein. Unhone ek forced change kiya – Richard Gleeson ko niggle ke wajah se rest diya gaya, aur Reece Topley ko mauka mila. Topley ke left-arm pace se MI ke attack mein variety aayi, jo Jasprit Bumrah aur Trent Boult ke saath milke PBKS ke batsmen ko rokne ki koshish karega. Deepak Chahar bhi hamstring issue ke wajah se doubtful tha, par Topley ko warm-ups mein dekhkar confirm hua ke wo khelega.
MI ka batting line-up – Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Suryakumar Yadav (season mein 673 runs), aur Tilak Varma – ekdum khatarnak hai, par middle order, khaas kar Tilak, thoda inconsistent raha. Pandya ne kaha team recovery aur execution pe focus kar rahi hai, aur unka five-time champion ka experience unhe yeh high-scoring ground pe fayda dega.
Key Match-Ups aur Strategy
Yeh match ekdum blockbuster hone wala hai. Chahal ka wapas aana MI ke batsmen ke liye badi tension hai – usne Bairstow (29 runs off 35, 4 dismissals) aur Suryakumar (83 runs off 71, 3 dismissals) ko hamesha pareshan kiya hai. Dusri taraf, MI ka Jasprit Bumrah (18 wickets is season) PBKS ke Marcus Stoinis ko hamesha tang karta hai, aur Priyansh Arya (431 runs) aur Josh Inglis (201 runs in 9 matches) ko rokne ke liye key hoga. Pitch ko Michael Clarke ne “flat, rock-hard, aur batter ka swarg” kaha hai, toh bowlers ko variations aur change-ups pe depend karna padega.
PBKS ki strategy pehle MI ke khilaaf jeet jaisi hogi – Arshdeep ke death overs aur Vyshak ke middle overs ne tab MI ko 184/7 pe roka tha. MI apne explosive batting aur Bumrah ke death-over magic pe bharosa karega. Baarish ka thoda sa khatra tha, par 8:25 PM IST tak covers hata diye gaye, toh full 20-over ka match hoga. Agar washout hota, toh PBKS apni league-stage ki higher ranking ke wajah se final mein jaata.
PBKS Chahal ke wapas aane se ekdum charged hai, aur MI Topley ke saath nayi strategy ke saath ready hai. Ye Qualifier 2 ekdum bada tamasha hai – PBKS apna pehla IPL title chase kar raha hai, aur MI apna chhatha. PBKS ke aggressive batsmen (Inglis aur Arya) aur strong bowling unit ka test hoga MI ke experienced players (Bumrah, Sharma, Suryakumar) ke khilaaf. Ahmedabad ke batter-friendly pitch pe jo team pressure mein better execute karegi, wahi IPL 2025 final ka ticket pakdegi.
