IPL: Ponting hails Shashank Singh's game-changing over in PBKS' win

PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting lauded his team's 'never-say-die' attitude after a win over SRH. He praised Shashank Singh's bowling for dismissing both SRH openers and hailed skipper Shreyas Iyer for the strategic call to bring him on.

Following his side's win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting hailed the team for their fightback, particularly the decision of bringing batting all-rounder Shashank Singh into the attack, who took wickets of both Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to push the Men in Orange on backfoot.

At Mullanpur, as 'Travi-Shek' raged to put up 120 runs in eight overs, it was an over from the dibbly-dobbly medium pacer Shashank Singh that changed the whole match. Shashank managed to get them both in the ninth over, and after that, SRH could only score 99 runs in the rest of the innings. Fiery half-centuries from Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, and skipper Shreyas Iyer made sure that target was chased down with six wickets in hand easily.

Ponting Hails 'Never-Say-Die' Attitude

Following a dramatic turnaround victory, Ponting lauded the resilience displayed by the squad, specifically highlighting the team's ability to reverse a disastrous start through their "never-say-die" attitude.

Post the victory, Ponting addressed the team during the 'Dressing Room Diaries' and hailed the players for the spirit shown in the match, saying, "What we talk about around this team all the time is how hard we are going to be to beat. When we are behind, we are going to find a way to fight and fight and fight until we get ourselves back into the game. We turned what looked like being an ugly day into a really positive one."

Praise for Captaincy and Bowling

Lauding skipper Shreyas Iyer for his strategic call and the bowlers for their fighting spirit, the head coach said, "A really brave decision from the skipper to bring Shashank into the attack, take the pace off the ball, and try and take some air out of it. [To the bowlers] I can hardly find a fault in anything we did for the rest of the game. That is some serious fightback."

Dominant Batting Complements Fightback

The Kings' batting unit complemented the bowlers' fightback with a dominant attack, as both openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, scored a half-century each, while Shreyas played a captain's knock, scoring an unbeaten 69.

"Seeing Prabh and Priyansh go out and take the game on the way that they do feels so great. They do it with so much class. Looking at the matchups, Priyansh taking the first ball today--a left-arm off-spinner--is exactly the match-up he wants. On the other hand, Prabh taking on Unadkat with the new ball in the second over... we got 93 at the end of the powerplay. It was an unbelievable opening partnership," Ponting said, praising the opening duo.

Focus Remains on Improvement

The head coach concluded by emphasizing that while the win was significant, the team remains focused on "tightening up" specific areas, refusing to settle for current form as they prepare for their upcoming fixtures.

Punjab Kings will next face Mumbai Indians on April 16 at the Wankhede Stadium.

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