The Mumbai Indians (MI) got off to a solid start in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, with opener Jonny Bairstow scoring a dominating six. The five-time champions will face Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in a must-win IPL 2025 match. PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first, citing the fact that the pitch had been covered the night before and would be ideal for the bowlers.

Coming out to bat, Jonny Bairstow took advantage of a free delivery from Kyle Jamieson in the second over of the session.

It was a short-of-length ball that drifted down the leg side, the type of delivery that a batsman prefers, falling right in his arc. The wicketkeeper-batter executed a pick-up shot, launching the ball into the Ahmedabad stands for the evening’s first maximum. The English international, who was brought in to play exclusively in the playoffs, pleased everyone in the Eliminator against the Gujarat Titans (GT) and sought to bring that momentum to Motera.

Rain break? No problem!#JonnyBairstow picked up right where he left off, punishing the short ball in sight! 💥

Will he set the tone again with another sparkling start for #MI? 👀🔥

LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/ojL4yAtejV #IPLPlayoffs | #Qualifier2 | #PBKSvMI on Star Sports… pic.twitter.com/J0OwpZanif

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 1, 2025

PBKS replaced Musheer Khan with Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI. Meanwhile, MI substituted left-arm bowler Reece Topley for Richard Gleeson, who was sidelined due to a hamstring injury acquired in the Eliminator match.

This matchup is extremely important for both organisations. MI are aiming for their sixth IPL trophy and will focus on winning the match to advance to the final. Meanwhile, PBKS is searching for its first IPL crown, and they have made it to the IPL playoffs after 11 arduous seasons.

The winner of this match will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the grand final on Tuesday, June 3, at the same location. RCB advanced to the finals by defeating PBKS in Qualifier 1 in New Chandigarh.