Match ka jhalak:
Mumbai Indians (MI) ne pehle batting ki aur 203/6 banaye, par Punjab Kings (PBKS) ne Shreyas Iyer ke heroics ke saath 19 overs mein chase kar dikhaya. Iyer ne 41 balls mein unbeaten 87* (5 four, 8 six) thok ke match apni jeb mein daal diya. Yeh MI ka pehla nakaam attempt tha jab unhone 200+ ka total defend nahi kar paya.
Mumbai ka scene:
MI ne toss haara aur pehle batting ki. Rohit Sharma (8) jaldi out ho gaya, par Jonny Bairstow (38 off 24) aur Tilak Varma (44 off 29) ne 51 run ka partnership banaya. Suryakumar Yadav ne bhi 44 off 26 mein apna jalwa dikhaya, aur season mein 717 run ka world record banaya (non-opener ke liye). Last mein Naman Dhir (37 off 18) ne tez innings khel ke MI ko 200 ke paar le gaya. PBKS ke bowlers, jaise Azmatullah Omarzai (2/43) aur Kyle Jamieson (1/30), ne slow balls se thodi control banayi.
Punjab ka dhamaka:
204 ka target chase karte waqt PBKS ka shuruaat shaky tha—Prabhsimran Singh (6) aur Priyansh Arya (20) jaldi out. Josh Inglis (38 off 21) ne Bumrah ke ek over mein 20 run maar ke momentum diya, par Hardik Pandya ne unhe out kiya. Phir Shreyas Iyer aur Nehal Wadhera (48 off 29) ne 84 run ka partnership banaya. Iyer ne Reece Topley ke ek over mein teen sixer maare aur Bumrah ke yorker pe ek mast boundary bhi lagayi, jise AB de Villiers ne “tournament ka shot” bola. Last mein Ashwani Kumar ke over mein chaar sixer maar ke Iyer ne 19th over mein game khatam kar diya. Marcus Stoinis ne bhi not out rehke saath diya.
Iyer ka swag:
Shreyas Iyer ne na sirf batting se dhoom machayi, balki apni captaincy ka bhi jhanda gaad diya. Woh pehla captain bana jo teen alag teams—Delhi Capitals (2020), Kolkata Knight Riders (2024), aur ab Punjab Kings (2025)—ko IPL final tak le gaya. IPL 2025 mein uske 603 run (strike rate 175.80) ne sabko impress kiya. Match ke baad Iyer ne bola ki woh pressure mein saans lena prefer karta hai, panic nahi.
Mumbai ka record toota:
MI ka 200+ ka score defend karne ka record toot gaya. Hardik Pandya ne post-match mein Iyer ki taareef ki aur apni bowling mein mistakes maane, khaas kar death overs mein.
Aage ka plan:
PBKS ab final mein Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) se bhidega, jo Qualifier 1 ka repeat hoga. Dono teams pehli baar IPL title jeetne ke liye ladengi. Iyer, jo 2024 mein KKR ko champion bana chuka hai, ab PBKS ke saath history dohraayega. Is jeet ne yeh bhi confirm kiya ki 2025 ka IPL champion ek naya team hoga, kyunki saare purane winners bahar ho chuke hain. Iyer ka yeh “swag aur aura,” jaise teammate Shashank Singh ne kaha, PBKS ko final mein bhi dangerous banata hai.
