“Best Win I’ve Had,” Says Ricky Ponting After PBKS Defend 111 vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting called their recent win against Kolkata Knight Riders the best match he has ever coached in the IPL. Despite scoring only 111 runs, Punjab defended the lowest total in IPL history and won by 16 runs in Mullanpur.

“Best win ever,” says Ricky Ponting

Ponting, who has coached in the IPL since 2014, said that matches like this define the season. He admitted that his heart was racing after the game and joked about his age not being fit for such tense finishes.

Just three days earlier, PBKS failed to defend 246 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But this time, with a much smaller total, they managed to bowl KKR out for 95.

Ponting gave full credit to Yuzvendra Chahal, who took 4 wickets, despite passing a fitness test just before the match. Marco Jansen also impressed with 3 wickets, and PBKS tried a new bowling combination by giving the first over to Jansen and the second to Bartlett instead of Arshdeep Singh.

Ponting accepted that their batting was poor, but said he was proud of how the players showed belief and energy while defending the total. Even if they had lost, Ponting felt it was a turning point in their season.

With this win, Punjab Kings now have four wins from six matches and are sitting at fourth place on the points table.