Ponting: It was Shreyas' call to promote Inglis to No. 3

Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has revealed that it was captain Shreyas Iyer's decision to promote Josh Inglis to No. 3 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Dharamsala, even though it is the slot where Iyer had wanted to "mark" himself at in IPL 2025. The move worked with Inglis hitting tearaway Mayank Yadav for three successive sixes in the second over.

Inglis' 30 off 14 balls set the tone for the powerplay in which PBKS hit 66 for 2. In their chase of 237, LSG could manage only 38 for 3 in those six overs and went on to lose by 37 runs.

"It was actually a move that the captain came up with," Ponting said at his post-match press conference. "He thought on that sort of pitch, against that bowling attack, that it would be the right thing to if a wicket fell early to send Inglis in. We felt that Mayank would bowl early on. If you look at the way he bowls, he generally bowls reasonably short. And that's one of Inglis' great strengths, as you saw tonight. Those pull shots were pretty amazing straight away."

Iyer, who scored 45 off 25 balls, and the rest of the PBKS middle order then launched from the platform Inglis and opener Prabhsimran Singh had set as they posted 236 for 5, their highest total against LSG.

"It then also allows us to have Iyer, [Nehal] Wadhera and Shashank [Singh] through the middle of the innings, which is what we thought would be crucial for us in tonight's game as well," Ponting said. "So, yeah, I mean, it was probably a surprise call for LSG to see him [Inglis] go out [at No. 3] and it paid off for us tonight. So once we got off to a [start], I think we were 70-odd at the end of the powerplay, all the momentum was going with us. You see with our batting, you know, we've got someone like Azmatullah [Omarza]i at No. 9. So we bat really, really deep and it allows our top order to play with a lot of freedom. And they did that tonight. And, you know, to bat first and get that sort of total was a great effort."

Ponting also heaped praise on Prabhsimran, who claimed the Player-of-the-Match award for his 91 off 48 balls, including seven sixes and six fours, on Sunday. He had come into IPL 2025 with only four fifty-plus scores in his career, and now in this season he has scored three fifties in a row, the latest one taking PBKS to No. 2 on the points table.

Prabhsimran is currently PBKS' highest run-getter this season with 437 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 170.03, and the highest among uncapped batters. Another uncapped batter, Priyansh Arya, who is playing his first IPL season, has also made a strong impression with 347 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of nearly 193, forging a potent partnership with Prabhsimran at the top.

"Yeah, look, he's been brilliant, hasn't he? You know, him and Priyansh have got us off to some great starts in the tournament," Ponting said. "They both, you know, before today had both made 350 runs each for the tournament. I sort of challenged both of the openers in the team meeting today for one of them to go on and get a hundred in this match.

"And unfortunately, Prabh felt just a little bit short of that. But look, all we've done with our batting group, we've just given some really clear direction of the way that we want them to play, to understand how important, you know, top-order partnerships are in this competition. And we know that if Priyansh and Prabh get going together, that they can be ultra-destructive.

"You know, Priyansh mainly, probably more against the faster bowlers. And Prabh's as good a hitter or spinner as anybody going around. So, they complement each other really well, being left hand, right hand, and one probably being slightly better against the quicks and another against spin. So look, it's a really good, really good combination."