Punjab Kings pulled off a heist in Mullanpur. They defended a mere 111 runs — the lowest total ever defended in IPL history — and stunned Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs. What followed was chaos, character, and a season-defining win.
Ricky Ponting, Punjab’s head coach since 2014, didn’t hold back. “That might be the best win I’ve ever had as a coach in the IPL,” he said after the game. His pulse was racing, and rightly so. Just three days ago, his team failed to defend 245. Now, they’d flipped the script completely.
KKR were cruising at 59 for 2 in 7 overs. Then came Yuzvendra Chahal.
Playing with a strapped shoulder, fresh from a fitness test, Chahal changed the game. He removed Ajinkya Rahane with a googly. Then Angkrish Raghuvanshi, set on 37, tried an inside-out loft but miscued. Soon, Rinku Singh was stumped. In just a few overs, KKR’s chase unravelled.
Chahal finished with 4 wickets. His spell was pure old-school legspin — flight, dip, drift. No magic ball. Just smart bowling, and pressure.
Coach Ponting revealed Chahal’s grit: “I looked him in the eye during warm-ups. He said, ‘Coach, I’m 100%’. And he proved it.” The Australian legend admitted PBKS’s batting was poor, but the bowling, fielding and belief were next-level.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer, though out for a duck himself, pulled the right strings. “I asked Yuzi to slow his breathing, stay calm. We needed wickets, and he delivered.” Shreyas admitted the wicket was tricky, with variable bounce. “I faced two balls — one stayed low, one took off. It was unpredictable,” he said.
PBKS shuffled their bowling lineup, starting with Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett instead of Arshdeep Singh. It worked. KKR fell like dominoes, eventually bowled out for 95.
This wasn’t just any win. It was built on belief, clarity, and fearlessness. It might even push PBKS toward the playoffs. They now sit fourth in the table.
Former cricketers raved about the game. Ambati Rayudu said, “Even the best captains wouldn’t have taken 111 seriously. But Shreyas did. Ponting never gives up. That’s a rare combo.” Ian Bishop echoed it: “Shreyas has made every team better. This was top-tier captaincy.”
PBKS’s dressing room was buzzing with energy. Middle-order batter Nehal Wadhera summed it up: “Ponting never speaks negative. His pep talk gave us belief. And Shreyas? One of the finest I’ve played under.”
It wasn’t just a win. It was IPL folklore.
