Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the Punjab Kings, shared an interesting story after their big win against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday. He talked about Yuzvendra Chahal, who was key to their comeback. In the post-game chat, Ponting mentioned that Chahal had to pass a fitness test because of a shoulder injury he got in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“I pulled him aside during warm-ups and asked if he was okay. He told me he was all set to play, and he sure delivered with a great four-wicket performance,” Ponting said with pride.
While Ponting praised his team’s determination, he had some honest words about their batting. He said even if they had lost, he would have still been proud of how they played in the second half. “Our batting was not good and we made poor choices, but I saw a belief in the team tonight, especially when we took wickets early on,” he noted.
He felt that even if they had lost in a close match, it could have been a turning point for the season. Not many people thought we could defend our score, but we did, and all the players did an amazing job,” he added.
Thanks to this win, the Punjab Kings now have eight points from six matches and are tied on points with the Gujarat Titans, only sitting fourth due to their net run rate.