Punjab Kings’ fast-bowling coach James Hopes is bracing for a high-pressure final in Ahmedabad, where his team will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in front of what he anticipates will be a highly partisan atmosphere led by Virat Kohli’s massive fan base.
Speaking after Punjab’s five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2, which sealed their place in the IPL 2025 final, Hopes said the focus now shifts to recovery and mental readiness for the title clash on Tuesday.
“It’s just a short turn around for us, we’ve finished at 2 am, which is pretty late, so tomorrow will be just about the guys recovering and getting mentally prepared for what I imagine is going to be a pretty big crowd and a pretty big pro Kohli crowd as well,” Hopes told reporters.
Hopes noted that Punjab Kings had been building towards this moment over the past few months, aiming not just to compete but to claim their maiden IPL title.
PBKS vs MI Qualifier 2: Highlights | Scorecard
“We’d been setting ourselves up for a couple of months the way that we were playing not to come third. We wanted to be in there with the chance to come first and we’ve given ourselves that chance now,” he said.
After falling short in Qualifier 1, Shreyas Iyer and his side bounced back emphatically, dismantling the five-time champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday. Iyer led from the front with a stunning unbeaten 87 off 41 balls, laced with eight sixes and five fours – a knock that tilted the contest decisively in Punjab’s favour.
Hopes lauded Iyer’s leadership, describing the batter as a “sensational captain” who remains calm under pressure and makes sharp tactical decisions.
“He’s calm, doesn’t get flustered very easily and he knows his matchups. He knows what he has to do at certain times and he’s prepared to take that,” Hopes said.
Reflecting on Iyer’s evolution as a batter, the former Australian all-rounder added: “When he was a younger player in Delhi (Capitals), he was a little bit more explosive and gung-ho, but he scores at a high strike right now strictly because he knows when a bowler comes on, that’s his matchup and he’s going to take it (on).”
Hopes also credited Iyer’s captaincy for restricting Mumbai to a manageable total despite their threatening start.
“With his captaincy, tonight, we kept them to 200 (203/6), but I reckon they could have got 220 or 230 and just because the way he pulls the strings out there and manoeuvred (the) bowlers around,” he said.
Tuesday’s final will crown a new champion regardless of the result, as neither Punjab Kings nor Royal Challengers Bengaluru has lifted the IPL trophy before. But in a stadium packed with fans hoping to see Kohli break his title drought, PBKS know they will need to overcome more than just the eleven players on the field.
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