Punjab Kings’ captain Shreyas Iyer with coach Ricky Ponting.
| Photo Credit: PTI
A smart move it proved, sending Josh Inglis at No. 3 ahead of Shreyas Iyer, the captain who has been fantastic in that slot for Punjab Kings. Shortly after the Kings scored a 37-run victory against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL at the HPCA Stadium on Sunday (May 4, 2025) night, coach Ricky Ponting revealed the idea came from the skipper.
Inglis’s 14-ball 30, after the early loss of Priyansh Arya, set the tone for the relentless onslaught that the Kings innings was. “Shreyas felt if we lose an early wicket, it would be the right to send Inglis in,” Ponting said. “We felt that Mayank Yadav would bowl early on, and he generally bowls reasonably short, and that is one of Inglis’s great strengths, as you saw tonight. Those pull shots were pretty amazing straight away.”
From Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh took over, hammering a 48-ball 91. “He has been brilliant,” the former Australian captain said. “Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran have got us off to good starts throughout the tournament. I challenged both of them for one of them to get a hundred in this match. Unfortunately, Prabhsimran fell a little bit short of that.”
Ponting was also all praise for Arshdeep Singh, whose spell spelt doom for LSG. “He has got more confident and is starting to get those Powerplay wickets with the new ball,” he said. “His first over tonight set the tone for our bowling innings. He is a star and we are very lucky to have him in our team.”
Published – May 05, 2025 11:38 am IST