IPL 2025 Final: In an exclusive interview with India Today, former batter Sunil Gavaskar said that toss could end up playing a big factor since there are chances of rain during the summit clash in Ahmedabad.
00:00To talk to us more about that qualifier number two, we are now joined by Mr. Sunny Gavaskar, who was there at the ground, must have enjoyed that particular encounter, but first of all, many congratulations to you as well, because I remember even before the playoffs had started, I'd asked you, tell us who's going to win, and you said, I don't know the team, but I can guarantee it's going to be first-time winners.
00:22That prediction has definitely come true, because now we have two teams that will be the first-time winners. So, overall, you think, great sign for the IPL?
00:32Definitely a great sign, no question about it, because while, of course, in sports, sometimes, you know, there's an era where one team or one player dominates, I think, in the IPL, because over the years, you know, the talent has spread out quite nicely.
00:48It is good to see a new champion coming through, no doubt about that. It also is, like I said, it actually tells you of the progress that, you know, the game is making, where not just one team is winning, or not one or two teams are winning the tournament, but there are different teams coming through as well.
01:06Let's talk about that game, Mumbai Indians versus the Punjab Kings, and Shreyas Ayer's 87. Fair to say that we've seen the best innings of this edition of the IPL, in that 87 that Ayer got, in extreme circumstances, where pressure was there, it was a do-or-die clash, the way he tackled the bowlers, played the situation, all of that put together?
01:32Considering it was a knockout, there's no, you know, when you play a league game, there's always, you know, the assurance that you have that there's another game to go. If you don't do well, so what? There's another game we can make up for it. But in a knockout, that's not the case.
01:46And therefore, the innings that he played really was an absolutely world-class innings. The way he smashed Reece Topley for three successive sixes took the game away at that stage. At that stage, it was delicately balanced. Delicately balanced. And in case it had been an over of maybe just 10 runs instead of the 20-odd runs that were scored then, then the game could have still been in the balance for a few more overs. But it was at that stage that the game slipped out of Mumbai Indians' hands.
02:14Sir, talk to us about that particular shot that he plays of a Jaspreet Bumrah incoming yorker. A similar delivery in the previous game had Washington Sundar down on the floor. Similar sort of a yorker coming in on the stump.
02:31If he misses it, of course, he's out. The game then is in the balance. But he chooses to guide it to third man, sees a gap there, get a four. For us, watching it from the outside, it defied logic. It defied science as well.
02:46Is it one of the most outrageous shots that you've seen?
02:48Yes, it is. It is. And, you know, I think he's short of genius. You know, I mean, when you talk about, you know, players, you know, who have this great ability to hit good balls for boundaries, Shreya Sayer is one of those players who can hit good balls for boundaries.
03:05That was a terrific yorker. It was fast. It was swinging in. It was right under the bat, so to speak.
03:11But the way he opened the face of the bat and ran it down to third man, because there were two third man fielders, he had to hit it to the left between the wicketkeeper and that fielder at short third.
03:23That was an incredible, incredible shot. It just tells you of the level of confidence that he was batting with at that stage to be able to play that.
03:31Because you're absolutely right. If he had missed it and if his middle stump had been sent cartwheeling, the game could have turned decisively Mumbai Indians way.
03:39And then he plays a match-winning 87 and does not celebrate. In fact, I was seeing how he's meeting his support staff, his team.
03:48I don't know. There are only two ways of looking at it. One, he was still in the zone and you'd know as a batter, once you're in the zone, it's difficult to just come out of it immediately after the game is done.
03:58It probably takes you an hour or a couple of hours to really get back and, you know, feel what's really happened.
04:04And either that or it's not the zone. He has his task cut out. He has his focus on the final.
04:12I think it was a combination of two. Definitely he was in the zone right till the end.
04:17And even after winning, you know, you're still there. You still think that there is still work to be done.
04:22And the work to be done is obviously tomorrow in the final. He'll need to play another defining innings if Punjab are hoping to win this title for the first time.
04:32It's up against a really top quality Royal Challengers Bengaluru team, a team which has done well with both bat and ball.
04:40And the fact that Royal Challengers have had nine, nine different, you know, player of the match, medal winners, tells you how well the Bengaluru team has also gelled.
04:51So, I think it is going to be a cracker, absolute cracker of a final. And deservedly, numbers one and two in the league clashing in the final, it should be an absolutely cracker of a final.
05:02That's a final that we're all looking forward to. Of course, we'll have Mr. Gavaskar back tomorrow as well, looking ahead to that final.
05:10Sticking with Shreya Sair and his performance, Anibai, are we also seeing a future India captain in Shreya Sair with the way that he not only captained KKR last time or Delhi Capitals before that, the way he's doing this season with Punjab too?
05:24Well, you never know. I mean, because it's going to be a hard job for Shubhman Gill to play in a five-test match series against England.
05:34Without two of India's, you know, great players, you have Rohit Sharma not being there to open the batting.
05:40There's nobody like Kohli in the middle to hold the innings together. So, it's really going to be tough for young Shubhman Gill.
05:49But let's not, you know, run ahead of our time. Let's just wait and see what happens. Shubhman Gill has got all the credentials of being a very, very good captain.
06:02And if he does well, then I don't see that there'll be any change in the leadership for some time at least.
06:09Talking about captain, Sahibai, again, looking at that MI versus Punjab game, what have you made of Hardik Pandya's captaincy in this season?
06:20And particularly that game probably could have bowled himself a little bit more in this entire season and the game last night.
06:27Maybe Mitch Santner was bowling very well, under-bowled him. What did you make of the strategy as a captain last evening?
06:33Look, look at the way Shreyas Ayer batted. I don't think it would have made much of a difference.
06:40You can always say that he should have bowled, he should have bowled.
06:45But I think, you know, Shreyas Ayer would still have been able to take Punjab Kings to a win.
06:51Hardik Pandya, of course, will be, you know, devastated because he's done so well to take a team that had lost the first four matches to the semi-final stage.
07:02So, you know, and that has got to do a lot with not just what the team has done, but how he's got the team to perform.
07:08So clearly, I think Hardik Pandya has done a stellar job as the captain.
07:15And yes, I think everybody makes a couple of mistakes.
07:18My only thing with him was that he should have bowled the final over in the game, the drain-affected game against Gujarat Titans.
07:27Having bowled that final over in the ICC T20 World Cup, where he protected 20 runs.
07:37So I think something, he should have taken the responsibility there.
07:40That's the only thing I feel.
07:42But otherwise, for the rest of the tournament, I think his captaincy has been top class.
07:45And how do you sum up, because the season is over for Mumbai Indians, of course, we'll talk a lot about Punjab and RCB that still remain.
07:53But because MI's season is over, how do you sum up Mumbai Indians' season overall?
07:58Do you think they have enough resources for the next season to mount a title challenge?
08:04Or would they need to make a few tweaks going forward?
08:07Every team, not just Mumbai Indians, every team will see from here, you know, where were the areas where they could, you know, strengthen their team.
08:17And I think for the Mumbai Indians, it's a middle order.
08:20I think that's an area that they'll want to look at.
08:22A third or fourth CIMA is something that they'll need to look at.
08:26Because sadly, over the last three, four years, Deepak Chahar has not been able to complete a season.
08:31He's got some injuries.
08:32So you have to cover for him when he's fit.
08:35He's a terrific bowler.
08:37But, you know, when it comes to the final end, where, you know, bowlers are tired in the heat of April and May, bowlers do get tired.
08:45And therefore, the muscles get weary and you can do damage to a muscle.
08:50So I think that is something that they'll have to look at.
08:52Because even when Gleeson was brought in, he was expensive.
08:55Yes, he got the wicket of Sai Sudarshan.
08:57Topley was completely out of his depth.
08:59But then he hadn't played for 13 months.
09:01So what do you expect of, what did you seriously expect from him?
09:07So I think there are areas for Mumbai to look at.
09:11Maybe even look at, you know, an opening bat as well.
09:14You know, because whether it is Wickelton or Bairstow or, well, and even Rohit Chaman.
09:21They need a solid opening bat.
09:23There's plenty of areas for Mumbai to look at, for sure.
09:25And finally, Saiwai, the game is tomorrow, but it is the big final.
09:32Punjab versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
09:34Who goes in as the favourite, according to you?
09:37Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
09:39Because of the fact that the last couple of wins that they've had have been outstanding wins.
09:44Excuse me, even Punjab won brilliantly against Mumbai Indians.
09:48But look at, when you look at the RCB win, where they chased down 225 against, or 230 against LHG to win with the bat.
09:56And then the next match that they played was the qualifier one, where with their bowlers, they decimated Punjab Kings.
10:01So, they're really going with, you know, with loads of confidence with both batting and bowling.
10:08And the fact that they had such a convincing win over the team that they're meeting in the final certainly makes them the favourite.
10:16All right, we'll leave it at that, Mr. Gavaskar.
10:18Thank you so much for joining us.
10:20We, of course, will have Mr. Gavaskar back on Tuesday, on the day of the final, as we build up to that big IPL 2025 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings.
