New Delhi: Punjab Kings chased a historic run against Delhi Capitals, and head coach Ricky Ponting made it clear that skipper Shreyas Iyer was at the heart of the victory. Chasing a mammoth 265, Punjab exuded conviction, with Iyer calmly leading the team home with an unbeaten 71 runs.Ponting did not stop praising his captain and explained why he worked so hard to bring Iyer into the team. “He’s a great person. And that’s why I put as much effort into the auction as I did. I knew he was going to be a great leader and for us to rebuild this team and rebuild this franchise,” he said.
Punjab got off to a flying start thanks to Prabhasmaran Singh and Priyansh Arya, whose aggressive batting set the tone early in the chase. Their partnership gave the team momentum, and Iyer made sure it wasn’t wasted by staying till the end.Ponting expressed his confidence in Iyer during the chase. “Because one thing I do know is if he gets in late in the run chase, we’re not going to lose a lot of games. And tonight, I went out at the 11, 12 over mark. I just grabbed him and said, if you get in late, we’re going to win the game. And he did it again.”Ponting also praised the opening pair, saying, “And the partnership he (Prabhasmaran) and Priyansh have built is pretty amazing. They really complement each other. Left-hander, right-hander. Both hit different parts of the ground.”Despite the record chase, he identified areas that needed improvement. “It is satisfying that you have chased the most runs, but to chase the most runs, you have to give away a lot of runs. So we have to work with our bowling and our fielding,” he said.He also talked about mentoring young players like Prabhasmaran. “At the end of the day, I’m a teacher … thankfully, he’s listening and working.”
