May 26, 2025: As Mumbai Indians (MI) gear up to face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their final league stage match in Jaipur on Monday, all eyes will be on PBKS’s in-form middle-order maestro, Shashank Singh. Known for his calm under pressure and explosive finishes, Shashank has been one of the standout performers over the last two IPL seasons.
With the playoffs looming, the stakes couldn’t be higher. PBKS currently sits second on the table with 17 points from eight wins, four losses, and a no result. MI, not far behind, holds fourth place with 16 points from eight wins and five losses. A win for either side could help them leapfrog Gujarat Titans and secure a top-two finish — earning a valuable double shot at the IPL final.
Shashank has been a revelation this season, racking up 284 runs at an average of 56.80 and an impressive strike rate of 149.47, including two half-centuries and a top score of 59*. His ability to dominate the death overs has been especially critical — striking at 195 against pace and a blazing 203 against spin in the final overs.
With PBKS already in the playoffs, Shashank has the chance to push past his 2024 numbers, where he notched 354 runs in 14 innings at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 164.25.
However, MI may be the team best equipped to stop his charge. They’ve been lethal in the death overs this season, leading all teams with 33 wickets between overs 16 and 20. They also boast the best average (15.48), strike rate (9.6), and the lowest boundary percentage (19.49%) in this phase. Their economy rate of 9.64 is second only to KKR’s 9.24.
Squads:
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Xavier Bartlett, Kyle Jamieson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar, Robin Minz, Bevon Jacobs
With both sides hungry for momentum heading into the playoffs, the MI vs PBKS clash promises to be a thriller — and whether Mumbai can stop Shashank’s rampage may well determine who gets the upper hand.