Punjab Kings sealed a five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 on Sunday. While skipper Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 87 was instrumental in the chase, Nehal Wadhera also made a significant impact.
The left-hander smashed 48 off just 29 balls, laced with four boundaries and two sixes, providing crucial momentum in the middle overs. Reflecting on his performance, Wadhera credited his previous stint with Mumbai Indians for helping him adapt and evolve his batting approach.
“I just wait for such games, couldn`t be more eager to play such a knock in a crucial game like the semi-final (Qualifier 2). This will be close to my heart. I have been with MI for two years and I have played them before, so I know what they could try and I changed a few things in my batting accordingly,” he said.
Wadhera also shared insights into his on-field conversations with skipper Iyer during the match. “He (Shreyas) was pretty clear that I just should see and hit the ball accordingly. If it was on my radar, I would just go for it. I needed to convert the balls into boundaries and it turned out to be good,” said the 24-year-old.
During the run chase in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 match against Mumbai, Iyer delivered an unbeaten knock of 87 runs in 41 balls, including five boundaries and eight maximums. Wadhera praised his skipper`s innings by saying, “He (Shreyas) is a chase master and proved it today as well. A lot of learnings from him and I hope we carry forward the momentum and win against RCB as well”.
PBKS will now clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2025 final on June 3 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Earlier, both teams had faced each other in Qualifier 1, where Punjab Kings suffered a demoralising defeat by eight wickets after being reduced to a lowly 101 by RCB pacers, while batting first. Later, the Rajat Patidar-led side comfortably chased the target within only ten overs at the loss of two wickets.
(With ANI Inputs)
