PBKS vs MI: Mahela Jayawardene rues dropped chances after losing Qualifier 2

India Today

2 days ago

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene was left ruing dropped chances following his team's loss against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025). PBKS beat MI by five wickets as they successfully chased down the target of 204, riding on a remarkable innings from captain Shreyas Iyer of 87* (41).Iyer got involved in a game-changing partnership with Nehal Wadhera for the fifth wicket as the duo added 84 runs off 47 balls. MI had a great chance to end the partnership on just 22. However, Trent Boult ended up dropping Wadhera on 13 at fine leg, which ended up costing his team dearly.advertisementFollowing Punjab's clinical performance, Mahela Jayawardene was full of praise for the opposition as he said that they were solid while chasing. He also mentioned how grabbing on to dropped chances would've changed things around for them.
'Punjab Kings were solid, especially while chasing — and that's not easy. They executed really well. We made a few blunders, obviously, with those two dropped catches. But that's how the game goes. We had luck on our side in the previous match, so it balances out. Overall, it was a good game of cricket — and we came up short. It's as simple as that,' said Jayawardene in the post-match press conference.Furthermore, the MI head coach revealed the reason behind under bowling Hardik Pandya, who gave away 19 runs from two overs and picked one wicket.advertisement"Yeah, I think he bowled two good overs, and we probably felt we had other options from that end. We tried Ashwani, who bowled well, and then brought in Bumrah to try and get a breakthrough. The game slipped away from us at that point. We felt our main bowlers could help us pick up wickets — that was really the only way back into the game. The last over was kept for him anyway, in case there was a chance. Sure, there could be a lot of 'ifs and buts,' but the truth is, we didn't play a perfect game — and we paid the price for it,' he added.Both Pandya and Mitchell Santner (0/15) bowled just two overs in the match while the rest of the seamers were taken to the cleaners by Punjab's batters. As a result, MI got knocked out of the tournament and continued their dismal record at the Narendra Modi Stadium, where they've won just one out of seven matches. On the other hand, Punjab qualified for the IPL final for just the second time in their history and after a whopping 11 years. Stay updated on IPL 2025 with India Today! Get match schedules, team squads, live score, and the latest IPL points table for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Plus, keep track of the top contenders for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap. Don't miss a moment!