Preity Zinta expresses joy after Punjab Kings enter IPL playoffs: “Proud Moment”

Preity Zinta celebrated Punjab Kings’ playoff entry with a heartfelt post, as coach Ricky Ponting praised the team’s grit, standout performances, and united effort. 

Actor Preity Zinta, a co-owner of the Punjab Kings team has penned an appreciation post for the squad, especially for their commendable fight against the Rajasthan Royals in their match in Jaipur.

Under the brilliant captaincy of Shreyas Iyer and otustanding performances by bowlers and batters, the Punjab Kings team finally ended their playoff drought in the IPL on Sunday, leaving fans and owners extremely happy.

"What a fantastic win by @punjabkingsipl Super proud of the way the team came together & fought for this victory. Yesterday was all about teamwork, grit & leadership Take a bow @harpreetsbrar95 , @shashanksingh027 , @nehalwadhera ,@shreyasiyer96 & the entire team for taking us into the playoffs @rickyponting #BasJeetnaHai #SaddaPunjab #RRvsPBKS #Ting," she posted.

Head coach Ricky Ponting also lauded the team's resilience.

In his address, Ponting stressed how the players have adopted a simple yet effective approach since the beginning of the tournament, playing their natural game despite the situation.

Expressing his happiness with the batting unit, who put 219/5 on the board for the Royals to chase, Ponting specifically praised Nehal Wadhera for his brilliant performance, scoring 70 runs off just 37 balls.

"What you did was manage to put pressure back on them straight away. You have to do that in this format, right? You had a great partnership with Shreyas. I actually said to him at one of the timeouts that because you're so good, you can find a way to score runs, be out there in a partnership, and you ended up putting on 67 off 44 balls," the head coach was cited as saying in a statement by PBKS.

"Shashank (Singh), awesome again. Every time you have been confronted with something in the tournament, you have found a way to get it done," he added while praising Shashank Singh for his unbeaten knock of 59 runs.

The former Australian captain then applauded the bowlers for managing to defend the score of 219, with a special focus on Harpreet Brar, who clinched three major wickets while conceding just 22 runs.

The Kings will next face the Delhi Capitals (DC) on May 24 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.