Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 1 (ANI): Punjab Kings (PBKS) picked up a crucial win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Wednesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, with skipper Shreyas Iyer leading the 191-run chase. After electing to bowl, CSK rode on Sam Curran’s 47-ball 88 to post a mammoth total of 190 on a slow, turning track.
Despite Yuzvendra Chahal picking 4 for 42 in his three overs, and Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen picking 2 wickets each, CSK were able to set up a tough target for the travelling side. But Iyer played a captain’s knock in the middle, scoring 72 runs in 41 balls to set up the win for his side. Aided by opener Prabhsimran Singh, who also scored 54 runs, PBKS finished off the chase with two balls to spare to win the match by four wickets.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting praised Iyer for his innings, and explained how the Indian cricketer has grown as a captain over the years.
“Shreyas started this tournament in a form that I’ve never seen him in before. Today’s innings is one of the reasons that I was so keen to get him here as our captain. I know how good of a player he is. I know how good of a leader he is. And I know how hungry he is for success. And I think he proved that to everybody tonight. It was not ever going to be an easy run chase. It was a great run chase from us,” the former Aussie international said as quoted by a Punjab Kings press release.
Further praising Iyer as a captain, Ponting explained how his influence inspires the rest of the dressing room.
“If you look at him now, you just look at him in the eye, you can tell that he is really hungry for success. He has just got that look in his eye where he knows he is the leader of this team. He wants to bring success to this team and this franchise, and the way that he is playing does not look like he is going to let anything get in the way of that. That is a great attitude for a leader to have, because that rubs off on everybody else around him,” he said.
Ponting also praised leg spinner Chahal for his performance with the ball and said, “Yuzi is a wicket-taker. They have got to back themselves and trust themselves that they are good enough to get any batsman out at any time. So, for him to have that little impact at the back end of the game today will give him a lot of confidence as well.”
Punjab will next travel to Dharamsala, their second home ground this season, where they will play their next three games. Ponting feels his team would have a better understanding of the conditions in Dharamsala and will use that to their advantage.
“It’s our home ground. We should know and play the conditions better than anybody else. We have a very long travel day tomorrow, and then we have two training days before our next game. So, we will have a chance to look at the conditions and work them out. Also, we had a 4-5 day camp up in Dharamsala before this season started. So, our players guys will have a good understanding of what the conditions will be like up there. Hopefully, we get all three wins in Dharamsala,” Ponting signed off.
Punjab will next face off against Lucknow Super Giants at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala on Saturday, May 3rd from 7:30 PM IST onwards. (ANI)
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