Ponting confident about PBKS bouncing back next season after first Final appearance in 11 years end in heartbreak.
Ponting confident ‘daring, dynamic and different’ PBKS will come back stronger next season.
The fact that Punjab Kings (PBKS) advanced to the IPL 2025 final despite having virtually no international batting experience was their most impressive feat. The only Indian hitter with a cap, Shreyas Iyer, is now unpopular in two of the three international forms. Josh Inglis, who may now be considered a regular for Australia, only appeared in 11 of the 17 games. Maxwell, Glenn, played seven. Batting too low was Marcus Stoinis’s fault.
Despite being bowled out for 111 and 101, these merry band of untrained and shackle-free Indian hitters continued to dominate the game throughout the season. Even when they were once down 34 for 3 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), this strategy worked.
However, PBKS blinked in the final, most likely for the first time this season. They failed to make a move in overs three and four, ending up at 32 for 0, just one run over their lowest four-over total of the competition. They had lost three wickets in the first four overs of the contests, thus that brace of 31s was 31.
The inexperienced openers for PBKS were playing in a manner that wasn’t consistent with their style of play in this crucial final. It wasn’t entirely because it was the last one. Later, their coach Ricky Ponting admitted it was smart. Josh Hazlewood was bowled by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening three overs for just the fourth time this IPL. The openers most likely concluded that RCB was seeking an early wicket. They were also cautious since they knew what Hazlewood had done to them in past games.
Ponting believed that Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s subsequent over may have been attacked. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, the openers, played to the merit of the ball rather than their innate attacking style, and only four runs were scored in that over.
“You know, when you have a really good defensive over, it’s really important that the next one you go after and try and capitalise on,” Ponting said. “And we weren’t able to do that in the fourth over of that powerplay.”