The highly anticipated IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings faced an initial delay on Sunday evening due to passing showers at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Although heavy rain was not forecast, intermittent drizzle threatened to disrupt the flow of this virtual semifinal, that will decide who joins Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final showdown on Tuesday.

Before the rain intervened, Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bowl first, banking on the boost to their bowling department with the return of veteran leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, handed a debut to England’s left-arm pacer Reece Topley, who replaced the injured Richard Gleeson in the playing XI.

As per IPL 2025 regulations, every playoff match has a cut-off time of 11:56 PM IST. In the event of rain interruptions, either before or during play, match officials are equipped with a 120-minute buffer window to resume or complete the game. Overs will not be deducted during this period; however, once this grace window is exhausted, the umpires will begin reducing overs in accordance with the tournament’s playing conditions.