Ahmedabad: High tempo knocks from Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Naman Dhir propelled Mumbai Indians to a challenging 203/6 against Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
On a pitch which had some moisture and aided slower balls, Suryakumar and Varma hit knocks of 44 each while Dhir applied finishing touches with an 18-ball 37 to take MI past the 200-mark, despite PBKS fighting back in between. The five-time champions have never lost while defending a 200-plus score in the IPL, and if they maintain that record, they will be in their seventh IPL final on Tuesday.
Play began after two hours and 15 minutes of rain playing hide and seek, as well as of oscillating between drizzle and heavy downpour. Once the game began, PBKS had instant success as Rohit Sharma, dropped on four in the second over, pulled to deep square leg off Marcus Stoinis.
After that, Varma and Jonny Bairstow brought out big shots from the word go. While Varma smacked Stoinis for a powerful six over long-on fence, Bairstow – despite being outwitted by slower balls at times - got two fours off Arshdeep, including off a top-edge, before taking a boundary and six off Azmatullah Omarzai, as MI ended power-play at 65/1.
MI managed to cross the 200-run mark, something which can be of a great psychological advantage in a knockout game, especially with a spot in final on the line.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 203/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 44, Tilak Varma 44; Azmatullah Omarzai 2-43, Marcus Stoinis 1-14) against Punjab Kings. IANS
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