
Shreyas Iyer's triple treat, MI's 200 fortress breached: IPL Qualifier 2 in stats
Shreyas Iyer became the first-ever captain to lead three different teams in the IPL final when his remarkable unbeaten 87 carried Punjab Kings to a five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 on Sunday. PBKS will now face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL final on June 3, ensuring the league crowns a new champion this year.After guiding Delhi Capitals to their maiden final in 2020, Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third title in 2024-KKR's first in a decade. Now, in 2025, he has taken the underachieving Punjab Kings to their first final since 2014. No other captain in the league's history has managed to lead more than one franchise to the IPL final. This will be Punjab's second appearance in a title clash, and a second successive final for Iyer as captain, following his triumphant campaign with KKR last season.advertisement| IPL 2025, PBKS vs MI Highlights |
In a rain-delayed fixture in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Naman Dhir helped propel MI to a daunting total of 200-plus.PBKS recovered smartly from their dismal batting display in Qualifier 1 and held their nerve to pull off the first-ever successful 200-plus run chase against Mumbai Indians in IPL history. Shreyas Iyer's stirring 87* off 41 balls sealed the chase for the Punjab side.Punjab Kings' successful chase of 204 was the highest ever in IPL playoff or knockout history. Their final score of 207/5 now tops the list of successful run chases against Mumbai Indians, surpassing Rajasthan Royals' 196 in 2020 and Delhi Capitals' 195 in 2018. It was also the eighth time PBKS have chased down a 200+ target-more than any other team in the league-and marked the ninth such instance in IPL 2025 alone, the most in a single edition of the tournament.advertisementMeanwhile, the Mumbai Indians' struggles in Ahmedabad continued as they slumped to their sixth consecutive defeat at the venue. Their only win at this ground came way back in 2014 against Rajasthan Royals. Despite being one of only two teams to have won five IPL titles, MI's playoff record after finishing third or fourth in the points table remains poor. In five such instances, they lost the Eliminator twice and were knocked out in Qualifier 2 on the remaining three occasions. Notably, MI have never reached the final after finishing outside the top two in the league standings-a pattern that continued this season.MUMBAI INDIANS' AHMEDABAD WOESSixth consecutive defeat for Mumbai Indians in Ahmedabad.Their only win at this venue came against Rajasthan Royals in 2014.SHREYAS IYER: CAPTAIN MARVEL OF IPLShreyas Iyer becomes the first player to lead three different teams to the IPL finalShreyas took Delhi Capitals to the playoffs in 2019, ending a 7-year droughtHe also took DC to their first final in 2020 after a 13-year waitShreyas then won the IPL with KKR in 2024, their first title in 10 yearsNow he has led Punjab Kings to the final in 2025, their first since 2014No other player has captained more than one franchise to the IPL finalPBKS PULL OFF HISTORIC CHASE OF 204Punjab Kings' chase of 204 is the highest ever in IPL playoffs/knockoutsFirst time a team has successfully chased 200+ against MI in the IPLHIGHEST SUCCESSFUL RUN CHASES VS MI IN IPL207/5 by PBKS, Ahmedabad, 2025 (Target: 204)196/2 by RR, Abu Dhabi, 2020 (Target: 196)195/3 by DC, Wankhede, 2018 (Target: 195)RECORD-BREAKING SEASON FOR 200+ CHASESThis is the eighth time PBKS have chased 200+—the most by any team in IPL historyNinth 200+ successful chase in IPL 2025 — most in a single edition of the leagueStay 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!
IN THIS STORY#IPL 2025

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Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
IPL Final: Royal Challengers Bengaluru win battle of the reds, clinch maiden title
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Hindustan Times
13 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
RCB end 18 years of wait, romp to maiden IPL title with smashing win over Punjab Kings
Do away with all the memes. All the jokes. For the first time in 18 years of the Indian Premier League, RCB are CHAMPIONS. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru defended 190 against an in-form Punjab Kings to end the franchise's long, agonising and painful wait for a maiden IPL win. Krunal Pandya's splendid show of 2/17 from four overs knocked the stuffing out of PBKS' batters, allowing the one-and-only Virat Kohli to realise his dream of what it feels like to have all premier trophies in his cabinet. Kohli was already a World Cup winner, a World T20 champion, and a Champions Trophy holder. He will now wake up on June 4, 2025, as an IPL champion. For RCB, legends have come and gone. Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori and even Kohli himself tried their best but couldn't get RCB over the line. Rajat Patidar, 32, in his first year as captain, outshone them all, cementing his place in the RCB histor books. At a venue where 200-run targets have been chaseable without breaking much sweat, RCB must get all the credit in the world for defending a total 10 runs short of. Given the start Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya provided Punjab, the target did not look threatening at all. But once Rajat Patidar rolled the dice on his spinners, the wheels began to come off. From 72/1 in the ninth over, PBKS slipped to 98/4 in less than four overs, with Krunal leading the charge. RCB turned to spin to shift the tide, with Krunal delivering a miserly seventh over to stifle PBKS. Suyash Sharma was introduced, but Inglis and Prabhsimran broke free, each hammering a six. Krunal hit back though, dismissing Prabhsimran, and the pressure intensified when Romario Shepherd landed a massive blow, removing Shreyas Iyer. Inglis kept PBKS alive, punishing short balls with another six in Shepherd's 12th over. However, the game tilted decisively in RCB's favour when Krunal dismissed Inglis in the 12.1st over, caught by Liam Livingstone at long-on. With all eyes on Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh – PBKS's last recognised batting pair, but despite a couple of lusty blows, much damage wasn't inflicted. With the required run rate touching 16 an over, the 17th over, bowled by Bhuvneshwar, was going to be make or break for Punjab. And break it was, with Nehal and Marcus Stoinis perishing in three balls. RCB believed, as did their fans. Even the legendary AB de Villiers rushed out of the commentary box to stand near the boundary. RCB's batting lineup, led by the experienced Kohli, struggled to find momentum against a disciplined Punjab Kings attack. The innings began brightly with Phil Salt's aggressive start, smashing a six and a four off Arshdeep Singh in the opening over to race to 13/0. However, Kyle Jamieson struck early for Punjab, dismissing Salt for 16 in the second over. Kohli and Mayank Agarwal steadied the ship, guiding RCB to 59/1 by the end of the powerplay. Agarwal played fluently, finding boundaries with ease, including an aerial cover drive off Vijaykumar Vyshak. However, Yuzvendra Chahal turned the tables by dismissing Agarwal. Kohli, adopting an anchor role, struggled to accelerate, managing only three boundaries at a strike rate of 123.08. RCB captain Rajat Patidar injected some momentum with a six off Chahal, but his aggressive intent was cut short by Jamieson's slow yorker. Azmatullah Omarzai further dented RCB's hopes by dismissing Kohli with a well-directed short ball, which Kohli top-edged. The middle order faltered as Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma failed to capitalise on their starts. Jitesh briefly ignited hopes with two sixes off Jamieson, including a stunning scoop over the keeper, but his departure in the 18th over left RCB at 171/6. Romario Shepherd's late cameo (four and six in the 19th over) kept RCB's hopes of crossing 200 alive, but Arshdeep Singh's sensational final over turned the game decisively. Arshdeep, despite an expensive night earlier, redeemed himself with a match-defining 20th over. He removed the dangerous Shepherd on the second ball, followed by Krunal Pandya two balls later, and capped it off by dismissing Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the final delivery, finishing with three wickets.


Hindustan Times
14 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Fans go crazy with joy after ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde' becomes reality as RCB wins IPL 2025
Fans erupt in joy as RCB ends 18-year wait, lifts first-ever IPL trophy Fans across India erupted in joy after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally lifted the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 trophy after an 18-year wait. Nearly two decades of heartbreak, near-misses and the dreaded 'ee sala cup namde (This year the cup is ours)' memes, RCB defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2025 final in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Celebrations broke out in every corner of the country as fans took to the streets and fireworks lit up the skies in Bengaluru. Social media was flooded with emotional tributes, throwback videos and the moment every RCB supporter had imagined for years, their team finally lifting the IPL trophy. At the centre of it all stood Kohli, the forever face of RCB. Emotional fans cheered for the former RCB captain, who gave everything for the franchise, making it a personal victory for many. Across the country, in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, RCB supporters chanted 'ee sala cup namde" and "Kohli, Kohli" -- this time, not with hope, but with triumph. Videos showed fans breaking into tears of joy. Ahead of the match, fans had organised hawans and digital snans, offered prayers at temples across the country, and even covered their cars in nimbu-mirchi to ward off nazar from their team's victory. On the other hand, rivals Punjab Kings also earned respect for their valiant IPL campaign, which was led by Shreyas Iyer.