Chahal likely to come back for Qualifier 2, Chahar desperate to do the same

Hotel rooms are easily available in Ahmedabad, there is no random crowd outside the Motera stadium, touts are not to be seen, although there is talk of one arrested on Friday for trying to sell 60 tickets at INR 5000 each. The general air is different to what it was even during an England-New Zealand game in the 2023 ODI World Cup, when you couldn't find accommodation at a decent price. Or even during the Gujarat Titans (GT) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) IPL final earlier that year.

It is much quieter and saner in Ahmedabad around these two final games of IPL 2025. However, the teams involved in Qualifier 2 are making up for it with their urgency. Mumbai Indians (MI) finished their win in the Eliminator and went straight to the airport to be flown into Ahmedabad by 4am on a chartered flight. In the evening, their coaches and medical staff were at the stadium for an unscheduled visit to look at the pitch and, more importantly, give their injured fast bowler Deepak Chahar a fitness test.

Reece Topley was the only other player who made it to the stadium. It could be a sign that Richard Gleeson might not make it to Qualifier 2. If Chahar's injured left leg doesn't take the strain well, Topley could well get his MI cap.

Punjab Kings (PBKS), their opponents, have been in the city for longer as they were done with New Chandigarh on Thursday. They had a relaxed training session out in the middle during which all signs pointed to a return to fitness for legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who last played on May 18 before an injury to the right wrist sidelined him. He wore protection on the wrist during the training session, played football, took catches, threw balls and then bowled a couple of overs in the empty net. Most of the PBKS bowlers practised in an empty net with a shoe on either side of the crease to aim their yorkers at.

Three spells of mild drizzle were unable to pause PBKS' training session, but proved to be a frustration for MI, who turned up even though they were not scheduled to. Mahela Jayawardene and Kieron Pollard wanted to take a look at the pitch, but the whole square had been covered by the time they arrived.

The real action for MI was Chahar's fitness test. They are desperate to get him ready. He had padding both under and above his left knee. He started with sideways movements with a resistance band around his legs. Then gentle jogging with breaks in between. Then short sharp sprints. All into a pretty stiff breeze.

Chahar walked off all right without a grimace, but Ahmedabad is among the worst venues if you have anything resembling an issue with a hamstring. The climb to the dressing room is a long one. If you need to take the elevator, you might need to get out of the Players and Match Officials Area. However, he didn't need to go up to the change room on the eve of the match. Still, he was careful to get support taking the odd step up even on the ground level. Now it possibly depends on how he wakes up on Sunday after this workout.

Jayawardene did eventually get to look at the pitch: No. 7 on the 11-pitch square, which makes it just off centre. This is a red-soil pitch on which GT successfully defended 217 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and CSK successfully defended 230 against GT. They were both big wins, which might suggest batting first is an option. Neither team was able to collect any intel on dew because of the drizzle, although dew has generally not been a factor in Ahmedabad.

The covers came off for barely five minutes. The groundsmen were no less urgent. In the stands, dancers rehearsed their performance to Jai Ho. It might not seem like it outside, but inside the Motera stadium, it was palpable that this was the eve of a big match.