Ricky Ponting didn’t mince words after watching Punjab Kings (PBKS) pull off one of the biggest upsets in IPL history. “I’m 50, don’t need more games like this,” the coach said with a laugh after his team defended the lowest total ever in the league—just 112 runs—against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
In a game full of drama at Mullanpur, PBKS turned a shaky start into a stunning 16-run win, bowling out KKR for just 95 in 15.1 overs. It was the kind of game that leaves your heart pounding, and Ponting admitted as much.
“The heart rate is still up there,” he said after the match. “We told the boys at the halfway mark, these low targets are often the hardest to chase. And tonight proved it.”
The pitch didn’t help either side, with runs hard to come by. But it was the PBKS bowling unit that rose to the occasion, led by Yuzvendra Chahal and Marco Jansen. Chahal, playing through a shoulder injury, took 4 wickets for 28 runs. Jansen backed him up with 3 for 17.
Ponting revealed that Chahal had to pass a pre-match fitness test. “I looked him in the eye and asked, ‘Mate, are you okay?’ He said, ‘Coach, I’m 100% right. Let me out there.’ What a spell of bowling that was.”
PBKS had a fiery start with the bat thanks to Priyansh Arya (22 off 12) and Prabhsimran Singh (30 off 15), but a mid-innings collapse—triggered by KKR’s Harshit Rana (3/25), Sunil Narine (2/14), and Varun Chakravarthy (2/21)—left them all out for just 111 in 15.3 overs.
But the real show began when PBKS took the field. Their energy, sharp fielding, and smart bowling choices flipped the script. Ponting gave credit to his bowlers and the tactical switch-ups, like starting with Jansen and Bartlett instead of their usual new-ball bowler Arshdeep Singh.
“We had to shuffle a few things based on the match-ups, and it worked,” he said.
Even with strong efforts from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (37 off 28) and Andre Russell (17 off 11), KKR couldn’t handle the pressure. Once the wickets started falling, there was no coming back.
Ponting, who’s seen it all in the IPL, called it one of the best wins he’s ever been a part of. “Even if we’d lost, I’d still be proud of how we fought back. But to actually win it… this could be the turning point of our season.”
The result takes PBKS to fourth place on the table with eight points from six games. KKR now sits sixth with six points from seven matches.
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