'Best win I've ever had as coach in IPL' - Ricky Ponting lauds PBKS after scripting history by defending 111 vs KKR

In one of the most thrilling comebacks in IPL history, Punjab Kings (PBKS) stunned defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with a 16-run win on Tuesday in Mullanpur. The match, which saw PBKS defend a mere 111 runs, was the lowest total ever defended in the history of the league, a feat that left head coach Ricky Ponting in awe.

PBKS were struggling from a defeat just three days earlier, when they failed to defend a total of 245 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. That loss had put their bowling and fielding under question. In the match against KKR, Punjab batters were bundled out for 111.

After opting to bat first, PBKS had a good start with Prabhsimran Singh (30) and Priyansh Arya (22) adding 39 runs in 3.1 overs. But Harshit Rana’s double-wicket over sent both Arya and Shreyas Iyer back to the pavilion. Wickets kept falling, with Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine.

KKR looked well in control at 62 for 2 during the chase. Following this, a collapse of epic proportions took place with eight wickets for just 33 runs. Leading the attack was Yuzvendra Chahal, who bagged 4 for 28, including crucial middle-order wickets. Marco Jansen chipped in with 3 for 17, including the dismissal of Andre Russell.

"Just about the best win that I've ever had and a season-defining moment. The heart rate still up a bit for me - it's probably up over 200. I don't need many of those games like that at my age of over 50 now. It just goes to show how funny a game it is. Only three days ago, we couldn't defend 246 [245] and here we are, defending 112 [111] with 16 runs up our sleeves. We actually said to the guys at the halfway mark that really small chases like this are sometimes the hardest. The wicket wasn't easy. You can see right through the game it was holding up," he told the broadcaster soon after the game.

Also Read: IPL 2025: PBKS vs KKR, Match 31 – Full highlights, top moments & winner details

Wins like this are always the sweetest ones: Ricky Ponting

The former Australian skipper added that PBKS had a clear strategy change, giving the new ball to Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett based on match-ups rather than the usual Arshdeep Singh and went on to heap huge praises for the man of the moment, Chahal.

"Well, you can probably see the way we changed things up with the ball as well, with Marco [Jansen] taking the first over and [Xavier] Bartlett the second. Normally, it's been a role for Arshdeep [Singh] with the brand new ball, but the match-ups tonight suggested that Jansen and Bartlett were better suited. But what about [Yuzvendra] Chahal tonight! How good a spell of bowling was that! We've actually put it on him a bit during the week. He had a fitness test before the game today with his shoulder injury that he picked up in the last game, and I grabbed him at the warm-up, looked him in the eye and said, 'Mate, are you OK?' He said, 'Coach, I'm 100% alright, let me out there', and what a spell of bowling," he added.

Ponting who watched from the sidelines as PBKS defended 111, the lowest total that has been defended in IPL history, for a 16-run win, mentioned this was the best win in his IPL coaching stint since 2014. 

"But we just said that wins like this are always the sweetest ones. If we can pull this off, then this would be as good a win as most guys have probably been involved in. I've coached a lot of games in the IPL and that might just be about the best win that I've ever had. We just said that wins like this are always the sweetest ones. If we can pull this off, then this would be as good as a win most guys have probably been involved in," Ponting concluded.