Shreyas Iyer etched his identify within the historical past books on Sunday as he turned simply the fifth skipper to register 50 wins within the Indian Premier League (IPL). The landmark got here as Punjab Kings (PBKS) edged previous five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in a high-stakes Qualifier 2 on the Narendra Modi Stadium, sealing a five-wicket win and punching their ticket to the IPL final for the second time after 2014.Iyer’s management journey within the IPL has been nothing in need of exceptional. Having captained Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and now PBKS, he has led in 85 matches, successful 50 (together with two by way of Super Over) and dropping 34, with two no-results, giving him a win proportion exceeding 57%. For DC, he secured 23 wins in 41 matches, together with a runners-up end in 2020. At KKR, Iyer delivered their third IPL title in 2023 with 17 wins in 29 video games. And in his debut season with PBKS, he has already registered 9 wins in 15 matches, main them to the highest of the desk with a 60% win price.Notably, Iyer is the one captain to have taken three totally different IPL franchises to the final and the one one to prime the league stage with two totally different sides in consecutive seasons (KKR in 2023 and PBKS in 2024).Quiz: Who’s that IPL participant?With this win, Iyer joins an elite group of IPL skippers with 50+ wins: MS Dhoni (136), Rohit Sharma (87), Gautam Gambhir (71), and Virat Kohli (66).Batting first, Mumbai Indians rode on robust middle-order contributions to put up 203/6. Rohit Sharma fell early for 8, whereas Jonny Bairstow appeared promising earlier than departing for 38 off 24. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav each scored brisk 44s earlier than falling on the identical rating of 142. A late cameo from Naman Dhir, who struck 37 off simply 18 balls, propelled MI previous the 200-run mark.
PBKS bowlers shared the spoils. Azmatullah Omarzai picked up 2/43, whereas Jamieson, Stoinis, Vyshak, and Chahal chipped in with a wicket apiece.In reply, PBKS had a shaky begin as openers Prabhsimran Singh (6) and Priyansh Arya (20 off 10) fell early. However, Josh Inglis (38 off 21) and Nehal Wadhera (48 off 29) rebuilt the innings. The chase was sealed by skipper Shreyas Iyer, who performed a captain’s knock, remaining unbeaten on 87, and Marcus Stoinis, who held his nerve on the different finish. PBKS chased down the goal in 19 overs.