Ricky Ponting credits PBKS captain Shreyas for the idea to promote Inglis to No.3

Iyer’s call was praised by head coach Ricky Ponting as a pivotal moment that helped PBKS move up to second place in the IPL 2025 points standings and break through the 15-point barrier for the first time since their 2014 season. Josh Inglis was promoted to No. 3 by Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer, and the team easily defeated the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 37 runs in Dharamsala.

To counter LSG’s pace attack, Inglis was sent up the order. With a cameo of 30 runs off just 14 balls, Inglis took full responsibility, smashing three massive sixes and a boundary off Mayank Yadav. His fireworks helped the home team score 66/2 after an incredible powerplay.

“The skipper actually came up with the move. He reasoned that sending Inglis in if a wicket fell early would be the proper move on that kind of pitch and against that bowling attack. We thought Mayank was going to bowl first. Based on his bowling style, he typically bowls rather short. And as you seen tonight, that is one of Inglis’ greatest advantages. At his news conference after the game, Ponting remarked, “Those pull shots were pretty amazing straight away.” In reference to Inglis’ promotion.

Prabhsimran Singh, meanwhile, stole the show with a spectacular 91 off 48 balls that included seven sixes and six fours. His Player-of-the-Match performance helped PBKS reach their highest-ever total against LSG of 236 for 5, despite the fact that he came close to missing out on his second IPL century.

Indeed, he has been outstanding, hasn’t he? We’ve gotten off to some fantastic starts in the tournament thanks to him and Priyansh, you know. You know, they had each scored 350 runs for the tournament before today. During today’s team meeting, I kind of challenged both openers to go on and score a hundred runs in this match. And regrettably, Prabh felt that he fell just short. In order to help them comprehend the importance of top-order partnerships in this competition, we have simply provided our batting group with very clear instructions on how to play. And we are aware that Priyansh and Prabh have the potential to be quite devastating if they start dating,” Ponting continued.

Our top order has a lot of leeway to play because we bat quite deep: Ricky Ponting

Additionally, the middle order, which included Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh, took advantage of the strong start after Shreyas contributed 45 off 25. Punjab was able to attack from ball one thanks to their strong batting lineup, which included late arrivals like Marcus Stoinis and Azmatullah Omarzai.

“It then also allows us to have Iyer, Wadhera, and Shashank through the middle of the innings, which is what we thought would be crucial for us in tonight’s game as well,” Ponting stated. “So, yes, I mean, seeing him [Inglis] go out [at No. 3] was definitely a surprise call for LSG, and it paid off for us tonight. We had a lot of momentum after we got off to a [start], and by the end of the powerplay, I believe we were about 70. You see, we have a batsman at No. 9 who is similar to Azmatullah [Omarzai]. We therefore bat very, very deep, which gives our top order a great deal of leeway. Tonight, they accomplished that. “And, you know, it was a great effort to bat first and get that kind of total,” the head coach continued.

In response, LSG’s chase got off to a bad start, falling behind at 73/4 at the halfway point and ultimately finishing at 199/7. Despite the optimism that Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad offered, they lost because of the other batters’ lack of support.