Ponting expects 'daring, dynamic and different' PBKS to come back stronger next season

The most remarkable thing about Punjab Kings' (PBKS) run to the IPL 2025 final was that they did so with hardly any international experience in their batting. Shreyas Iyer was the only capped Indian batter they had and even he is out of favour in two of the three international formats right now. Josh Inglis, who can perhaps consider himself an Australia regular now, played only 11 out of 17 matches. Glenn Maxwell played seven. Marcus Stoinis batted too low.

Throughout the season, this merry band of inexperienced and shackle-free Indian batters kept taking the game on even if it meant getting bowled out for 111 and 101. This approach came off even when they found themselves down at 34 for 3 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on one occasion.

In the final, though, probably for the first time all season, PBKS blinked. In overs three and four, they didn't try to make the play and found themselves at 32 for 0, only one more than their lowest four-over score all tournament. That brace of 31s was 31 because they had lost three wickets in the first four overs in those matches.

Here, in the big final, PBKS' inexperienced openers were playing in a way that wasn't true to their game. Part of it was not because it was the final. It was actually smart, their coach Ricky Ponting said later. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowled Josh Hazlewood in the first three overs for only the fourth time this IPL. The openers probably decided RCB were looking for an early wicket. They also recognised that Hazlewood had done against them in previous matches, and were circumspect.

It was the over after, bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, that Ponting felt could have been attacked. Just four runs came off that over as the openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, played to the merit of the ball instead of playing their natural attacking game. "You know, when you have a really good defensive over, it's really important that the next one you go after and try and capitalise on," Ponting said. "And we weren't able to do that in the fourth over of that powerplay."

"Maybe a little bit of experience in that middle order today might have helped us out, but what I know is that we're going to have these younger guys around this team for a long time and I think they're going to win us a lot of games going forward"<b>Ricky Ponting</b>

After that, PBKS were always chasing the game against RCB's well-rounded attack. Asked if this circumspection was a reaction to their 101 all out against the same team in Qualifier 1, Ponting said, "I would like to think not because one thing I've told this group is always taking the game forward, always seeing the positive result and the way that we go about it, and not thinking about the negative result that might happen if you get out.

"One thing as a batsman in this game, you can't be worried about getting out. If you're worried about getting out, you can't play the game well."

It just made Phil Salt's catch of Arya much more significant - he ran about 20 yards to his right and along the boundary, took the catch, lobbed the ball up before stepping out, and came back in to complete the catch.

Even if it was the lack of experience that might have cost PBKS the final, Ponting promised similarly competitive and aggressive cricket from his players, who will be more experienced come next season. "I can't speak highly enough for what those young boys have done through the tournament," Ponting said. "I think I talked at the first press conference I had with Shreyas about becoming a daring, dynamic, and different team.

"On the back of that, what Prabh and Priyansh and [Nehal] Wadhera and these sort of guys were able to do, there's probably enough been said through the media over the last couple of months. The way that we've been able to play our cricket, it's been highly entertaining. For a coach to be able to sit back and say that about a team gives me a lot of satisfaction.

"You can probably look at it tonight and say, 'was it probably a little bit of inexperience that cost us?' Maybe a little bit of experience in that middle order today might have helped us out, but what I know is that we're going to have these younger guys around this team for a long time and I think they're going to win us a lot of games going forward."

Ponting did feel, though, that PBKS let this one slip after keeping RCB down to 190. "We've got it right for most of the year," Ponting said. "It was only a couple of days ago that we were here celebrating one of our great wins for the season to get into the final, and today we probably feel that we've let one slip, but as I said, with this group being as young as it is, we'll be back bigger and stronger next season."