Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya was visibly emotional and heartbroken after his side faced a crushing defeat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2025. The high-stakes encounter took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. With this defeat, MI exited the tournament, and PBKS moved on to face RCB in the final on Tuesday, June 3.
MI were asked to bat first after losing the toss and posted a competitive total of 203/6 in their 20 overs. The innings featured valuable contributions from Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, who both scored 44 runs, while Jonny Bairstow (38) and Naman Dhir (37) chipped in with impactful performances.
PBKS cruised to victory, led by Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 87 off 41 balls, winning by five wickets with an over to spare. As Iyer sealed it with a six, an emotional Hardik Pandya was seen in tears, consoled by teammates. You can watch the video here:
A 1⃣1⃣ year wait ends… 🥹#PBKS are in the #TATAIPL 2025 Final and who better than Captain Shreyas Iyer to take them through ❤
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/vIzPVlDqoC#PBKSvMI | #Qualifier2 | #TheLastMile | @PunjabKingsIPL pic.twitter.com/vILymKxqXp
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) June 1, 2025
Hardik Pandya Admits MI Fell Short on Execution After IPL 2025 Elimination
During the post-match presentation, Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya acknowledged the strong performance of the Punjab Kings’ batters and admitted that his team’s bowling unit struggled to carry out their plans effectively. Reflecting on the loss, the all-rounder stated:
“They batted really well. I think it was a par total but it needed some really great execution as a bowling unit which in all these big games, really matters. They were really, really calm and put us under pressure. We were not able to execute the way we wanted. I’ll not put it on the wicket. If we had to do something better it was to bowl better lengths and bowl the right ball at the right time.”
“Maybe I could have managed the troops better and the result could have been different. In hindsight, it would have been different but we could have left it a bit too early as well. Boom, knowing him, even if 18 balls were left, Jassi can be Jassi and do something special. It just didn’t happen today,” Pandya continued.
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