Priyansh Arya and Josh Inglis were at the heart of a statement win for Punjab Kings,  a seven-wicket demolition of Mumbai Indians that sealed a top-two finish and gave them a shot at a direct entry into the IPL 2025 final.

Chasing a potentially tricky target, the pair added 109 for the second wicket en route stunning half-centuries each to turn what could have been a tense contest into a canter. It meant Suryakumar Yadav’s 57 – a record 14th score of 25 or more in T20s – wasn’t anywhere near enough.

MI will now play in the Eliminator, with the final playoffs line-up to be decided after Tuesday night’s fixture. A Royal Challengers Bengaluru win over Lucknow Super Giants will set up their clash with PBKS in Qualifier-1. A defeat will see them meet MI in the Eliminator on May 30.

Arya, known as a powerplay dasher, began by hitting Trent Boult for three fours off his first four deliveries, but quickly showcased a new gear to his rapidly evolving game. Coming off three single-digit scores, he allowed Inglis to dictate the early tempo when PBKS needed momentum after the loss of Prabhsimran Singh had them 35 for 1 in five overs.

Once settled, Arya stamped his authority – none of his shots more emphatic than a short-arm jab off Hardik Pandya for six over wide long-on to raise a 27-ball half-century. That wasn’t it. He also hooked Jasprit Bumrah over fine leg for six at a time when he could’ve so easily afforded to play him out.

Inglis, for his part, was equally enterprising, marrying brute force with audacity. He countered Mitchell Santner’s threat early, by pulling him to the short leg-side boundary for six – his first two overs cost 23.

Along the way, Inglis also exhibited his flair for innovation. The knock featured a pair of audacious reverse scoops off Ashwani Kumar, including one against a slower ball, underlining his confidence and clarity.

It wasn’t just the rookie he was after. Inglis superbly ramped Hardik for six, and was equally authoritative against Bumrah, who he drove on the up through the line fearlessly, at no point showing any willingness to backdown against MI’s trump card. The effect of the second-wicket partnership meant Bumrah had bowled out by the 17th, with PBKS needing just 20 off 18.

Arya and Inglis fell with the target within touching distance, but Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera, formerly MI, saw PBKS home without any flutters.

MI’s misery was compounded by potential injuries to Deepak Chahar and Tilak Varma. Chahar had his right hamstring heavily taped one ball into his opening burst in the powerplay. He bowled three overs in all but was seemingly low on pace. Tilak, meanwhile, jarred his knee onto the turf while trying to stop the ball on the boundary rope and spent the remainder of PBKS’ chase off the park.

Suryakumar came in at No. 3 in the sixth over after MI were put into bat. He batted right through until the final over, helping ride through a wobbly middle phase, before accelerating superbly towards the end with Naman Dhir.

The penultimate over, Vijaykumar Vyshak’s fourth, went for 23 to raise hopes of a grandstand finish. But Arshdeep Singh then nailed his yorkers superbly in a gun final over that went for just three runs as PBKS closed out the innings superbly.

Suryakumar and Dhir aside, there was a key lower middle-order contribution from Hardik (26 off 15). This injected momentum before the final lift-off gave them a total to bowl at.

Playing his final game of the season before he leaves for national duties, South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton did the early running until Rohit Sharma caught up. Rohit, who had been dismissed by left-arm seamers four times this season struggled a touch early on against Arshdeep and Marco Jansen but seemed to get into his groove as he took the attack to Harpreet Brar in the powerplay.

He first stepped out imperiously to hit him over long-on and then lofting him inside-out over cover. It needed Wadhera’s stunner at long-on to send him back for 24.

Rohit’s dismissal followed a choppy middle phase where they lost two wickets in quick succession, before Hardik, who’d batted just 39 balls in the last six games, injected momentum along with Suryakumar, who brought up his half-century off just 34 balls.

Vyshak, playing only his third game of the season, was on track to be the pick of the bowlers until he leaked two fours and two sixes in his final finish with 2 for 44. Arshdeep and Jansen too picked up two wickets apiece.

While MI made 53 off the last five, there was a sense that they may have missed out on a few extra runs. Inglis and Arya proved that.

Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 187 for 3 in 18.3 overs (Josh Inglis 73, Priyansh Arya 62, Prabhsimran Singh 13, Shreyas Iyer 26*; Jasprit Bumrah 1-23, Mitchell Santner 2-41) beat  Mumbai Indians 184 for 7 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 27, Rohit Sharma 24, Suryakumar  Yadav 57, Will Jacks17, Hardik Pandya 26, Narman Dhir 20;  Arshdeep Singh  2-28, Marco Jansen 2-34, Harpreet Brar 1-36, Vijaykumar Vyshak 2-44) by 7 wickets

[Cricinfo]