After the Punjab Kings pulled off a remarkable win against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday, their head coach Ricky Ponting had some eye-opening things to say about Yuzvendra Chahal. It turns out Chahal played a huge role in turning the game around, but before the match, he was dealing with a shoulder injury he picked up in their previous outing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Ponting shared during a post-match interview that Chahal had to pass a fitness test just hours before the game.
“I actually pulled him aside during the warm-up, Ponting said. I looked straight at him and asked, ‘Are you good to go?’ He gave me a solid ‘Coach, I’m 100 percent fine, let me get out there!’ And wow, what a performance he gave us,” he remarked, referring to Chahal’s outstanding display of bowling where he took four wickets and helped secure the win for the Kings.
Ponting was really proud of his team’s determination, but he didn’t hold back when it came to addressing their batting issues. “Honestly, even if we had lost today, I still would have felt proud about how we approached the second half of the game. Our batting, though? Not so great—shot selection was off, and the execution wasn’t there,” he acknowledged. Ponting, however, was excited to see his players showing energy and belief on the field. “It was obvious to everyone that we were sharper today, and that was crucial for our success,” he added.
He continued, “If we’d ended up losing a close one, I would have stood there telling the guys it was a defining moment for our season. Instead, we dug deep and turned it around. At halftime, I think most people didn’t believe we could defend that score, but we did! All the guys played exceptionally well tonight.”
Thanks to this win, the Punjab Kings now sit on eight points after playing six matches. The team is currently tied on points with the Gujarat Titans at the top of the leaderboard, though they sit in fourth place right now due to a lower net run rate. It’s looking good for Shreyas Iyer and his squad, and they’ll hope to keep the momentum going in their future matches.
