Mumbai Indians Fall Short in High-Stakes Clash Against PBKS
Mumbai Indians’ head coach Mahela Jayawardene offered a candid reflection after their IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Ahmedabad on Sunday, June 1. Despite a strong comeback after a poor start, the five-time champions couldn’t secure a place in the IPL 2025 final.
Strong Comeback After Early Struggles
After losing four of their first five matches, Mumbai Indians bounced back impressively with six consecutive wins, boosted by the return of Jasprit Bumrah. Their IPL 2025 performance showed promise, especially in both the batting and bowling departments.
Jayawardene acknowledged:
“𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫.”
Key Moments and Missed Opportunities
MI posted a solid 203/6, with contributions from Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jonny Bairstow, and Naman Dhir. They even removed Prabhsimran Singh early in the chase. However, Josh Inglis’s explosive batting, including 20 runs off Bumrah’s first over, turned the tide.
Shreyas Iyer, captain of Punjab Kings, played a match-winning knock of 87* off 41 balls. His 84-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera was crucial, a moment Jayawardene called the “turning point.”
Coach’s Analysis and Praise for PBKS
“𝑾𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 10𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓,” 𝑱𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 200.”
While Bumrah didn’t deliver as expected, Jayawardene praised Mitchell Santner, Hardik Pandya, and Ashwin for their efforts.
Despite the exit, the Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2025 campaign had more highs than lows, setting high expectations for next season. Fans can watch MI vs PBKS highlights online and follow the IPL 2025 match schedule for updates.
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