Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting lauded captain Shreyas Iyer for his outstanding 97-run knock against the Gujarat Titans, reserving special praise for his decision to bring on Vijaykumar Vyshak which the Australian said was the turning point of the match. Vyshak conceded 10 from his first two overs before yielding 18 from the 19th over with GT needing 27 off the last over. The Shubman Gill-led unit ultimately failed to get the required runs and PBKS won by 11 runs.
“I was sitting there, I was like, they need 13-14 runs an over. Sent the message out to Shreyas, asking what do you want to do? He said straight away, just get Vyshak out there. He’ll nail a couple of overs at Yorkers and we will close the game. And you were the one that changed the game, so congratulations,” Ponting said to Iyer in a vide posted on the PBKS X handle.
In the match, Iyer shone with an unbeaten 97 as Punjab Kings beat Gujarat Titans by 11 runs. Chasing 244 to win, Gujarat Titans fought hard to make 232 for 5 but the target proved to be beyond their batters despite Sai Sudharsan making 74, Shubman Gill hitting a quick 33 and Jos Buttler scoring 54.
The Dressing Room speech you were waiting for! 🗣️♥️#PunjabKings #IPL2025 #BasJeetnaHai #GTvPBKS pic.twitter.com/Ja7e9j3KPb
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 26, 2025
Sherfane Rutherford also played a quick knock of 46 but his effort was not enough.
Earlier in the first innings, Shreyas Iyer missed out on a maiden IPL century but his 97 not out off 42 balls (9 sixes, 5 fours) and Shashank Singh’s 44 not out off 16 balls (6 fours, 2 sixes) helped Punjab Kings post 243 for 5.
Sai Kishore was the pick of the bowlers for Gujarat Titans with 3/40 but the home team bowlers generally struggled to keep the run flow in check.
At the top, young Priyansh Arya struck seven fours and two sixes to make 47 off 23 balls.
