The 69th IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur was full of drama. From MI owner Akash Ambani’s animated chat with Shreyas Iyer to Hardik Pandya ignoring the PBKS captain, fans got everything to enjoy on May 26.
Punjab Kings made headlines on Monday by becoming the first team to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs and also secure a top-two finish.
The Shreyas Iyer-led PBKS’ dominant seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians has not only confirmed their spot in Qualifier 1 but also ended their 11-year wait for a playoff appearance in the tournament.
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Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy shines in the IPL 2025
It’s also the third time an IPL team led by Shreyas Iyer has made it to the playoffs, proving his leadership skills once again. The Indian middle-order batter had earlier taken Delhi Capitals to the finals and led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title glory last season.
Read Also: “Not up to the mark”: Hardik Pandya blames Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah & others for MI’s loss to PBKS
While Punjab fans were celebrating the team’s big moment, some other eye-grabbing moments caught everyone’s attention.
In the 18th over, with Suryakumar Yadav nearing his half-century, the cameras zoomed in on a surprising moment where Iyer was seen having an intense conversation with Akash Ambani near the boundary line in Jaipur.
Iyer leaned over the advertisement board to have some words with the MI owner, with the duo seen involved in an animated chat.
Hardik Pandya ignores Shreyas Iyer twice after PBKS’ big win over MI
Well, the drama didn’t end there, as the cameras caught Hardik Pandya ignoring Iyer twice intentionally after PBKS beat MI in their crucial IPL 2025 clash on Monday.
After Iyer finished the match for Punjab Kings with a stunning six off Trent Boult in the 19th over, the MI players came to congratulate the captain for the win.
As Iyer was about to leave the pitch, Mumbai Indians players shook hands with the PBKS captain and congratulated him. Hardik Pandya crossed him twice but bluntly ignored his good friend.
Read Also: ‘Ricky Ponting has been fantastic’: Shreyas Iyer credits head coach for PBKS’ remarkable success
The MI captain shook hands with his teammates, but he seemingly passed Iyer without having any words on the first instance, and in the next one, Iyer and Pandya came face to face, but still, the all-rounder neither congratulated him nor shook hands with him, which raised many eyebrows. Now, the clip of the moment is going viral on social media.
I don’t think there’s much panic: Hardik Pandya on IPL 2025 Eliminator
Now, the five-time IPL champions will have to go through the Eliminator, and Hardik said that his team is looking forward to the match while insisting there is not any panic at his camp after suffering a crushing defeat against the Punjab team in Jaipur.
Hardik Pandya said at the post-match presentation, “Overall, play good cricket, bat well, bowl well, work on the plans, and see what is the template that will work as a batting group. Bowlers have been doing really well throughout the season.
Batting, we’ll figure out what is the right template on the right tracks, and if we bat first, what is the pace we want to bat. There are a couple of things that we need to identify, but I don’t think there’s much panic. We knew what was at stake. Looking forward to the Eliminator.”
