Cliff Notes – Chahal returns as PBKS bowl MI bring in Topley
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Punjab Kings opted to bowl first against Mumbai Indians, citing overcast conditions and a pitch that had been covered, potentially aiding fast bowlers early on.
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PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer expressed optimism following their previous defeat, with Yuzvendra Chahal returning to the squad, replacing Harpreet Brar.
- Mumbai Indians’ captain Hardik Pandya also preferred to bowl, noting that recent matches in Ahmedabad have favoured teams batting first, with six out of seven games resulting in victories for the chasing side.
Chahal returns as PBKS bowl; MI bring in Topley
Toss Punjab Kings chose to bowl vs Mumbai Indians
Punjab Kings (PBKS) chose to field in Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Ahmedabad on the basis of “overcast” weather. Shreyas Iyer, the PBKS captain, also spoke of how the pitch had been under the covers leading into match day, which suggests there might be some help early on for the fast bowlers.
PBKS are “recovered and rejuvenated” after they were knocked out for 101 in Qualifier 1 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). That upbeat mood might also have something to do with Yuzvendra Chahal being fit enough to play this game. Harpreet Brar made way.
Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai captain, also wanted to bowl. He used to be the home captain in Ahmedabad and believed conditions here had flattened out since his time as captain of Gujarat Titans in 2022. That tallies with the numbers from IPL 2025. Ahmedabad has hosted seven matches and all of them have seen scores of 195-plus. Six of the seven games there this season have been won by the team batting first. Mumbai had one change with left-arm quick Reece Topley coming in for Richard Gleeson.
Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Naman Dhir, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Raj Bawa, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Reece Topley
MI Impact Bench: Ashwani Kumar, KL Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Bevon Jacobs
Punjab Kings: 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Josh Inglis (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nehal Wadhera, 5 Shashank Singh, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Vyshak Vijaykumar, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Arshdeep Singh
PBKS Impact Bench: Prabhsimran Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Pravin Dubey