Punjab Kings set up IPL final against RCB

BBC News

2 days ago

Indian Premier League, Qualifier 2, AhmedabadMumbai Indians 203-6 (20 overs): Suryakumar 44 (26), Varma 44 (29); Azmatullah 2-43Punjab Kings 207-5 (19 overs): Shreyas 87* (41), Wadhera 48 (29); Ashwani 2-55Punjab Kings won by five wicketsScorecard
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer hit a sparkling unbeaten 87 to lead his side to their first Indian Premier League final in 11 years with victory over Mumbai Indians.Chasing 204 to win, Shreyas clattered eight sixes in his 41-ball knock, smacking Ashwani Kumar into the stands to seal a five-wicket win with an over to spare.After the match started over two hours late because of rain in Ahmedabad, Mumbai posted 203-6 in their 20 overs, with Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav both scoring 44 and Jonny Bairstow making 38 off 24 balls.Kings will meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Tuesday's final, also taking place at the Narendra Modi Stadium.A new IPL champion will be crowned, with both sides having never won the tournament.
"I love such big occasions," said player of the match Shreyas."I always say to myself and to my colleagues in the team that the bigger the occasion, the calmer you are, you get the big results."
Punjab won the toss and elected to bowl before the rain arrived, although no overs were lost.When play eventually started, Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis removed India opener Rohit Sharma for just eight, before Varma and Bairstow combined for 51 runs.Another strong partnership worth 72 between Varma and Suryakumar put Mumbai in a decent position before both fell in the space of three deliveries.However, Naman Dhir's 37 off 18 balls boosted the five-time champions to a challenging total.In reply, Australia wicketkeeper Josh Inglis sparked Punjab with 38 off 21, including 20 off one over from India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.But Mumbai hit back as captain Hardik Pandya removed Inglis and were marginal favourites when Nehal Wadhera fell for 48, with Kings needing 48 off 26 balls.However, Shreyas kept his side in contention and, requiring 23 runs off the last two overs, he flicked the switch to smash four sixes in the 19th over in a clinical finish.The final is a repeat of the first qualifier match, in which RCB thrashed Kings by eight wickets.Both sides scored 19 points in the group stage, with Kings narrowly topping the table on net-run rate.Punjab were beaten by Kolkata Knight Riders in their only previous final appearance in 2014, while RCB have lost the showpiece in 2009, 2011 and 2016.