After reuniting with head coach Ricky Ponting, Shreyas Iyer got his tenure as Punjab Kings captain off to a ideal start with an 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
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Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting had formed a successful partnership at Delhi Capitals, helping the team reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs after seven years in 2019 and its maiden final the following year. With the two reuniting at Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 18th season of the IPL, the perennial strugglers find themselves filled with hope – not only of reaching an IPL final for the second time in 17 years, but of finally add a trophy to its cabinet.
After leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third title last year, Iyer – the second-most expensive player in IPL history – began his stint as PBKS captain with a
thrilling 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans on Tuesday. What also stood out in Punjab’s victory was the fact that Iyer remained stranded on 97 not out at the end of the innings after GT skipper opted to field, allowing explosive middle-order batter Shashank Singh (44 not out off 16) to take maximum in the slog overs.
‘Punter’ hails decision to introduce Vyshak in middle overs
Later in the evening, Iyer’s decision to bring ‘Impact Player’ Vijaykumar Vyshak into the attack in the 15th over, which also had left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh’s input, turned out to be a superb move. Despite being set a daunting 244 to win by the Kings, the Titans were in cruise control as they raced to 169/2 at the end of the 14th over, needing 75 to win off 36.
Though he was guilty of bowling a few wides, Vyshak tilted the balance of the game in PBKS’ favour by conceding just five runs in each of his first two overs. South African left-arm quick Marco Jansen also conceded eight runs in the 16th as the Titans failed to score a single boundary for more than three overs – at which point the game already was beyond GT’s reach despite having plenty of wickets in hand.
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“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,” former Australia captain Ponting said after the game in a video posted by PBKS on X.
The Dressing Room speech you were waiting for! 🗣️♥️#PunjabKings #IPL2025 #BasJeetnaHai #GTvPBKS pic.twitter.com/Ja7e9j3KPb
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 26, 2025
Though Vyshak conceded 18 runs in his third over to finish wicketless for 28 runs in three overs, the damage had already been done from the Titans’ perspective at that point. Arshdeep later held his nerve and collected a couple of wickets in the final over to ensure the Kings began IPL 2025 on a winning note.