Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has revealed that it was captain Shreyas Iyer’s decision to promote Josh Inglis to No. 3 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Dharamsala, even though it is the slot where Iyer had wanted to “mark” himself in IPL 2025. The move worked, with Inglis hitting tearaway Mayank Yadav for three successive sixes in the second over.
Inglis’ 30 off 14 balls set the tone for the powerplay in which PBKS hit 66 for 2. In their chase of 237, LSG could manage only 38 for 3 in those six overs and went on to lose by 37 runs.
“It was actually a move that the captain came up with,” Ponting said at his post-match press conference. “He thought on that sort of pitch, against that bowling attack, that it would be the right thing to do if a wicket fell early to send Inglis in. We felt that Mayank would bowl early on. If you look at the way he bowls, he generally bowls reasonably short. And that’s one of Inglis’ great strengths, as you saw tonight. Those pull shots were pretty amazing straight away.”
Rayudu: ‘Pretty stubborn’ Pant must ‘accept the fact that he is struggling’
- A spell from hell: Arshdeep finds a new high in Dharamsala
- The evolution of Prabhsimran Singh: From powerplay basher to all-phase disruptor
- Prabhsimran 91, Arshdeep’s new-ball spell take PBKS towards playoffs
Iyer, who scored 45 off 25 balls, and the rest of the PBKS middle order then launched from the platform Inglis and opener Prabhsimran Singh had set as they posted 236 for 5, their highest total against LSG.
“It then also allows us to have Iyer, [Nehal] Wadhera, and Shashank [Singh] through the middle of the innings, which is what we thought would be crucial for us in tonight’s game as well,” Ponting said. “So, yeah, it was probably a surprise call for LSG to see him [Inglis] go out [at No. 3], and it paid off for us tonight. So once we got off to a [start], I think we were 70-odd at the end of the powerplay, all the momentum was going with us. You see with our batting, you know, we’ve got someone like Azmatullah [Omarzai] at No. 9. So we bat really, really deep and it allows our top order to play with a lot of freedom. And they did that tonight. And, you know, to bat first and get that sort of total was a great effort.”
Ponting also heaped praise on Prabhsimran, who claimed the Player-of-the-Match award for his 91 off 48 balls, including seven sixes and six fours, on Sunday. He had come into IPL 2025 with only four fifty-plus scores in his career, and now in this season he has scored three fifties in a row, the latest one taking PBKS to No. 2 on the points table.
Also Read : Gill, Buttler, and Sudharsan Lead Gujarat Titans to Victory, Leaving SRH on the Brink of Elimination