Jaipur, May 25 Punjab Kings have already qualified for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 but ran into a roadblock on their way to the top two finish as they lost to Delhi Capitals by six wickets on Saturday.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer scored 53 runs in 34 balls, while late heroics from Aussie allrounder Marcus Stoinis, who scored an unbeaten 44 off 16 balls, helped the Kings post 206/8 in 20 overs.
But on the solid batting track at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the Delhi Capitals were more than up for the challenge to chase down the total and managed to win the match with three balls to spare.
Speaking after the match, head coach Ricky Ponting addressed the dressing room and asked the team to focus on the upcoming game against the Mumbai Indians on Monday.
"That's just a really good example of the game of T20 cricket tonight. If you are just a little bit off in any facet of the game, quite often you are going to lose. I reckon if you look back tonight, we are probably a little bit off on all three facets of our cricket," Ponting made an honest assessment of the team's performance in the dressing room.
Ponting praised Iyer and Stoinis for their batting display and also highlighted Harpreet Brar for his two wickets on a difficult bowling surface.
"Stoinis got us with some magnificent hitting at the end, got us to a total that we thought was probably still going to be good enough. Shreyas played a good captain's knock and steadied the ship. Harpreet Brar, I want to mention your bowling today. I thought you were outstanding again, picked up the two wickets. Arshdeep, I thought you started really well as well, made the first couple of overs, " he said.
"We probably didn't get the partnerships, we probably didn't have someone go on, get a big score," he added.
The former Aussie international expressed disappointment over the result and asked the team to switch on before the upcoming game on Monday.
"If we look back, I am disappointed that we lost, but I actually think that gives us a chance to sit back and reset now and get ready to go again," he said.
"Forget about this game tomorrow, but make sure when we turn up for Monday that we are 100% switched on and ready to go," he said.
Stoinis further stressed on the importance of the upcoming match and said, "We have obviously qualified for the finals and we are trying to get that top 2 spot, so unfortunately tonight might hurt that little bit. We are playing really good cricket. Different guy are stepping up at different times and a lot is riding on where we finish on the table," he signed off.
Punjab Kings will next face off against Mumbai Indians on May 26 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
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