IPL 2025 Q2, MI vs PBKS | Mumbai juggernaut face dizzied Punjab with finals spot at stake in Ahmedabad

Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings will enter the Qualifier 2 from diametrically opposite angles, given both their history and recent form. The former have made winning a habit, lifting the Indian Premier League cup five times, and are well accustomed to the trials and tribulations that come with a knockout game. The Kings, meanwhile, are playing their first playoff in 11 years, and have little experience navigating the post-season which is why they remain trophyless.

A thrashing at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 does not help either, where they were thoroughly outplayed from the first over itself despite finishing the league stage on top of the table. The Kings got bowled out for 101 as their counterattacking approach was derailed by an exhibition of new ball bowling from Josh Hazlewood, handing them the biggest defeat in IPL playoff history. Mumbai, meanwhile, cruised past the Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator with a 20-run victory, with all five retentions Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah playing instrumental roles in a well-synchronized performance.

Yet, despite all the narratives, the playoffs are notorious for punishing any lapes no matter the quality of a team, which should give Punjab hope apart from the fact that they prevailed in the two teams' only league stage game in 2025.   

Form Guide

MI: W L W L W

PBKS: L W L W W 

MI vs PBKS Head to head in T20s

Despite the vast disparity in success of both teams, their head-to-head records stands at 17 apiece. Over the years, Punjab have grow a reputation as being the five-time champions' voodoo rivals, which was on showcase yet again in their last league stage game of the campaign where Punjab Kings emerged triumphant to seal a top-two finish. However, whether they can do it on the big stage with a place in the IPL final at stake is a different conversation altogether. 

MI 17-17 PBKS

Pitch and Weather

The average first innings total at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad this season reads a mind-boggling 221, with only one instance of a sub-200 score which incidentally came for Gujarat Titans against the Mumbai Indians themselves. Ever since being introduced to the world as the biggest cricket stadium ever built, the venue has presented batting haven after batting haven with its flat strips rendering the relatively long boundaries meaningless. Expect another high-scoring encounter given the batting prowess of both teams in question.

The game is forecast to begin with hints of clouds overhead that shall quickly give way to clear skies courtesy of some strong winds. No rain is expected while temperatures should hover between the 30 and 35-degree Centigrade mark. 

Team News

Mumbai Indians are likely to stick with the same XII that won the Eliminator, that included Jonny Bairstow as a replacement for Ryan Rickelton and Richard Gleeson adding bowling depth in place of Will Jacks. Raj Angad Bawa came in as a replacement for the injured Deepak Chahar.

Punjab Kings had to use Musheer Khan as an emergency Impact Player in Qualifer 1 after a top and middle-order collapse, but ideally would have liked to play Vijaykumar Vyshak as should be the case on Sunday. Kyle Jamieson retained his place as Marco Jansen has left for the WTC Final. 

MI Probable XII:  Rohit, Bairstow (wk), SKY, Tilak, Dhir, Hardik(c), Santner, Bawa, Ashwani, Boult, Bumrah, Gleeson

PBKS Probable XII: Prabhsimran, Arya, Inglis (wk), Iyer (c), Wadhera, Shashank, Stoinis, Omarzai, Jamieson, Brar, Arshdeep, Vyshak      

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