Ahmedabad, Jun 1 (UNI) Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first against Mumbai Indians in IPL Qualifier 2 at Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.
Citing overcast skies and a pitch that had remained under covers, Iyer said the decision to bowl was influenced by the conditions. “It’s a fresh game, our mindset is to go out and win. The environment is top-notch. Yuzi comes in,” he added, confirming the return of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to the playing XI.
Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya, who said he would have opted to bowl as well, acknowledged the importance of adapting to the surface. “We need to bat well and assess the conditions. It has got flatter. If you bowl well, you’ll get some help,” he said.
Reflecting on his side’s recent performances, Hardik added, “A lot of areas we could have got better. One day break, it’s tough but we know what to execute. We came very early morning after the game, most of the guys focussed on recovery.”
Mumbai made one change, with left-arm seamer Reece Topley replacing Richard Gleeson, who was ruled out due to a niggle.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Reece Topley
Impact Subs: Ashwani Kumar, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Bevon Jacobs
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Harpreet Brar
