In what will go down as one of the greatest upsets in IPL history, Punjab Kings (PBKS) stunned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by defending a mere 111 runs at the Mullanpur stadium the lowest total ever defended in the Indian Premier League. And no one was more thrilled (and relieved) than head coach Ricky Ponting.

ricky-ponting-on-kkr-vs-pbks-ipl-2025-match

Ponting visibly elated after the game hailed his team's grit and belief calling it the best match he’s ever coached in the IPL.

"The heart rate is still up there. I'm 50 now, and I don't need more games like these!" Ponting joked during the post-match interview

The hero of the night was Yuzvendra Chahal who produced a stunning spell of 4/28 turning the match on its head. Interestingly Chahal had undergone a fitness test before the match due to a shoulder niggle.

“I pulled him aside during warm-up and asked, ‘Mate, are you okay?’ He looked me in the eye and said, ‘Coach, I’m 100 percent right. Let me out there.’ That’s the kind of attitude you want,” Ponting revealed.

"Even if we had lost that game, I couldn't have been proud of the way we went about the second half. Our batting was poor, the shot selection and execution that was all poor, but when I saw us take the field and we got the wickets early on and what we we have been lacking is, bit of belief to the ball and bit of energy in the field and that was there for everyone to see tonight. So, if we had gone down in a really close one, I would have been telling the guys that was actually a season-defining moment and might be now as well" he said.

"Wins like these are always the sweetest one, and if you can pull this off, then you should be as good as win as most guys been involved in and I have coached a lot of games in the IPL and that might just be about the best win I ever had" he concluded.