Published: Apr 20, 2025, 10:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 20, 2025, 10:09 PM (IST)
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has shared his disappointment with the batting effort from his team against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), as he felt that the pitch was far better than the 157 which the team managed to post for the 7-wicket defeat they faced.
Virat Kohli was controlling the wheel of RCB’s chase as he played an unbeaten knock of 73 runs, along with Devdutt Padikkal, who contributed 61 runs.
When speaking in the post-match conference, Ricky Ponting right-off stated that the wicket was someone where a score far higher than 157 could have been scored. He said that his team had batters who would have great starts especially at the top order, which is necessary in T20 cricket.
“I think the wicket was a whole lot better than 157. We had a lot of batsmen make starts, not go on and make those big scores, and that’s crucial in T20 cricket, especially guys at the top of the order. And that’s the difference,” Ponting said in the post-match conference.
Ponting also stated that neither the ground does not offer a lot of pace nor does it offer bounce, adding that the wicket was different in all the four games they played there.
“One thing we know about it, it (the ground) doesn’t offer a lot of pace and it doesn’t offer a lot of bounce, and we talk about that. And to be honest, the four games we’ve played here, each wicket’s been slightly different, so it just takes you a little bit of time to adjust,” he said.
Coming to the match, Devdutt Padikkal (61 off 35 balls), who is quite an elegant batter when in form, scored his first IPL half-century in 22 innings while chases like these have been a cakewalk for someone of Kohli’s caliber as he played second fiddle for the better part of his innings. The latter remained unbeaten on 73 runs from 54 deliveries.
The duo added 103 in 11.3 overs by playing textbook cricketing strokes with minimal risk. It was Kohli, who started off with a signature pull off Arshdeep Singh where the rolling of wrists kept the ball down and a bowler’s back-drive off Xavier Bartlett to signal his intentions.
He got an able partner in Padikkal, who hit fours and sixes in equal measure. The best of the lot from Padikkal certainly was the lofted one off Marco Jansen where his bat swing was picture perfect. Padikkal was finally gone trying to got for a fifth six off left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar’s bowling but by then RCB had all but pocketed the game.
Once he completed his 50 off 42 balls, Kohli slashed Arshdeep deliberately behind point for a boundary. But undoubtedly the best shot was an inside out straight six off Yuzvendra Chahal. Jitesh Sharma finished off the match with a wonderful six as RCB completed the 158-run target in 18.5 overs and moved to the third spot on the table with 10 points.
