Josh Inglis’ 73 and Priyansh Arya’s 62 helped Punjab Kings secure a 7-wicket win over Mumbai Indians and make it to Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2025 season on Monday, May 26. The loss meant that MI will take part in the Eliminator as their batting and bowling failed to deliver in Jaipur. Priyansh and Inglis put on a 109-run stand off 59 balls and it proved to be the difference in the end. This was the first time in 11 years that PBKS has finished in the top two of the IPL, and they will now wait to know the result of the LSG vs RCB game on May 27 to know if they will actually top the table. The Jaipur track has been delivering high-scoring thrillers over the past few games with PBKS’ loss to DC seeing a total of 414 runs being scored across both innings. However, on Monday, it seemed like the pitch was a different one. PBKS won the toss and opted to field first, a decision Hardik welcomed as he was unsure about what to do. PBKS vs MI: Highlights | Scorecard The MI start was a mixed bag as there were boundaries but a lot of dot balls. Rohit Sharma, in particular, seemed to be struggling for a long time, especially against the left-arm pacers Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen, before a boundary in the third over. Rickleton, on the other hand, played some delightful shots to keep the rate up. The introduction of Harpreet Brar helped Rohit get some momentum with a six and a boundary but Jansen accounted for the wicket of Rickleton to restrict MI to 52 for 1 in the powerplay. The next two overs saw MI’s scoring rate reduce a bit before Suryakumar ensured 15 came off the ninth over from Kyle Jamieson as momentum seemed to shift for Mumbai. However, Harpreet would get the last laugh over Rohit as the MI legend was dismissed for 24 runs from 21 balls. This started a slump for MI as Vysakh Vijayakumar got the wicket of Tilak Verma first before dismissing Will Jacks, who looked menacing and had scored 17 off 8 balls. Amdist this, Suryakumar looked to be steady after getting to his 14th 25-plus score of the season and went past the record set by Sachin Tendulkar for MI. Hardik provided some brief entertainment with a few lusty blows but he also perished as it seemed like Mumbai abandoned the intention to get to 200. Naman Dhir, who is being groomed as the next finisher by MI, gave some much-needed momentum as he hit back-to-back sixes of Vysakh as Suryakumar also joined in with a couple of boundaries as 23 came off the 19th over. Arshdeep brought back some calmness by dismissing both men and ensuring just 3 runs came from the final over. The PBKS innings started much like the MI one as Priyansh got a couple of boundaries in the first over before Deepak Chahar got a maiden against Prabhsimran. While Priyansh looked he was in the zone, Prabhsimran looked a bit itchy and unsettled in the middle. He almost gave away a chance to Chahar in the 4th over but Ashwani Kumar dropped a tough chance. This is when Bumrah was brought into the attack and he delivered immediate success with the wicket of Prabhsimran as Ashwani made amends this time. This brought Inglis to the middle, who has had starts at No.3, but was failing to kick on. However, the Aussie batter seemed to be in a different zone and started with a six off Chahar. He and Priyansh then started to ensure that they didn’t let any of the MI bowlers and started to attack them. Santner was the first to feel the wrath before Hardik got the same treatment. The duo brought their 50-run stand in the 9th over and the 100 for Punjab came in the 11th over. Inglis got to his fifty in 29 balls and Priyansh in 27 as they brought up their 100-run stand by the 14th over. While Priyansh departed, Inglis ensured he stayed almost till the end to ensure PBKS will play the Qualifier 1 in Mullanpur on May 29. 2014 deja vu for Punjab The last time Punjab made it to the playoffs was in 2014. That squad was considered to be the best in the history of the franchise and they finished the at the top of the table. However, the story ended in a bit of an anti-climax as they lost the qualifier 1 and then the final in the end. Since then, they have been away from the play-offs, before this season. This time around, Punjab used their money wisely during the auction and bought a team that had incredible depth as compared to the rest. But the biggest change was the fearlessness and the backing the young Indian players in the squad. Priyansh and Prabhsimran won’t always come off, but they play fearlessly and provided Punjab with the ideal start. The vision of Ricky Ponting and the heart of Shreyas Iyer have powered this team on to new heights this season and they will be hoping that finishing in the top two doesn’t turn out to be sour for them. The players are all coming together at the right time and Punjab will be dreaming of that elusive title win. Disappointed Mumbai will need to group Some may argue that after their poor start, MI didn’t deserve to be in the top four. But what they did after that initial slump was some performances that showed why they were 5-time IPL champions. Jasprit Bumrah’s return and the likes of Suryakumar and Rohit finding form at the right time ensured that they reached the play-offs once again. However, their second loss in the last three games show that the wheels seem to be coming off a bit. In Jaipur, the bowling looked a bit clueless in front of Inglis and Priyansh,…
