Delhi: Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach Ricky Ponting on Tuesday termed the thrilling victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as the “best victory” of his coaching career. In this match, Punjab won by 16 runs, defending just 111 runs, which is the lowest score ever in IPL history, which has been defended by a team.
Ponting said after the match, “My heart rate is still up, perhaps more than 200. I don’t want such matches anymore, I have crossed 50. I have crossed 50. What a strange game. Three days ago we could not defend 246 runs (against Sunrisers Hyderabad), and now 112 saved, and that too by 16 runs.”
Ponting said, “I told the players in Haftime that chasing such small targets is sometimes the most difficult. The pitch was not easy. The ball was coming to a standstill in the entire match, it was clearly visible.”
Ponting spoke in praise of Yuzvendra Chahal
He said, “Look at Yuzvendra Chahal’s today’s spell. We had put a little pressure on him for the last few days. He had a fitness test before the match, because he had a shoulder injury in the last match. In the warm-up I asked him, ‘You are right?’ He put his eyes in his eyes and said, ‘Coach, I am 100% fine, send me to the field,’ and he bowled brilliantly. “
Ponting told the team plan in the innings break
The former Australian captain said, “We made a change in the bowlers’ strategy. Arshdeep usually opens with a new ball, but today we got the first over from Marco Yansen and the second over from Zewier Bartlet, because they were better according to today’s matchup. We told the players that if this match was won, it would be a seasons-dining moment.”
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(Tagstotranslate) IPL 2025 (T) Pbks vs Kkr (T) Punjab Kings (T) Ricky Ponting