A thrilling Qualifier 2 clash in Ahmedabad between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) may have delivered on drama and fireworks, but not without a price. Both captains, Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya, were slapped with hefty fines for their teams’ slow over-rates by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This came after the match was interrupted by rain.
PBKS & MI fail to maintain the over-rate
With unseasonal rain delaying proceedings post-toss, the revised playing conditions came into play, extending the match window by two hours. However, even with that cushion, both sides failed to maintain the required over-rate, dragging the contest well into the night. The clash, whose first ball was bowled at 9:45 pm IST (on June 1), ended around 2:00 am IST (June 2), that too, when PBKS won with one over to spare.
For PBKS, it was their second offence of the season, resulting in a ₹24 lakh fine for Iyer. The rest of the squad, including the Impact Player, were fined ₹6 lakh or 25% of their match fee, whichever was lower. MI, meanwhile, were hit even harder—this being their third breach, Hardik was docked ₹30 lakh, while his teammates were penalised ₹12 lakh or 50% of their fees.
However, Hardik avoided suspension this time, unlike last season, as the rule has been changed for IPL 2025. This season, the BCCI maintained that the captains won’t be suspended after repeating code of conduct breaches for slow over rates. Instead, they will be slapped with fines and demerit points instead.
On the field, Iyer led from the front with a brilliant unbeaten 87 off 41 balls. His knock helped PBKS chase down the target and reach their first IPL final since 2014. Punjab will now face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on June 3 in the final. With neither team having won the IPL before, fans are guaranteed a brand new champion this year.
