Arshdeep Singh delivered a match-winning spell for PBKS against MI.
The left-arm quick returned with the figures of 3 for 22 in four overs, helping PBKS restrict MI to 195/6 and the visitors chased it down with 21 deliveries to spare.
Following the match, Arshdeep attributed his match-winning spell to a mental reset facilitated by head coach Ricky Ponting.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Arshdeep revealed that he had approached Ponting after feeling the ball "didn't feel right" in his hand early in the season.
Ponting’s advice was non-technical, focusing instead on managing expectations after the high of a T20 World Cup win. He urged the pacer to "stick to the basics" rather than trying to force results or over-complicate his mechanics.
"It feels really good. And it goes back to having a chat with Ricky in one of the training sessions. I told him I wasn't feeling the way I should feel, the ball is not coming out of my hand really well. And we had a nice pep talk with him. And it felt really well after that. The clear mindset he gave me in that chat. And even yesterday I came for training and I had a nice spot bowling session. And that was the time when I felt like the ball is coming out really nicely out of my hand. And the result was in front of you guys today. The ball was seaming a bit, the ball was swinging and the control was there,” Arshdeep said.
“(On that chat Ponting) Yeah, nothing technically, it was just how I can keep myself fresh mentally and how I was just expecting too much out of myself and not letting things to be simple and just going by the flow. Because he told me, you're coming off a high winning a World Cup and it's not easy to maintain that high all the time. So you just got to stick to the basics and have fun. That's the most important part of the game. Just enjoy it and stick to your basics,” he added.
Speaking to JioHotstar after the game, Ponting revealed how a timely conversation helped Arshdeep regain his mojo.
The coach also noted the left-armer was "over-training," creating bad habits, so he worked with him to simplify his approach.
“He’s almost an over-trainer. He probably trains too much, and sometimes ends up building bad habits into his game. But yesterday, he came down on his own and did 30–40 minutes of spot bowling to refine a few things and improve his release,” Ponting said.
“If you’ve watched him closely, he just wasn’t getting that shape with the new ball that we’re used to seeing. He worked hard on it yesterday and then executed an almost perfect first over today,” he added.
“I had a chat with him before he went out to bowl. I asked him what exact ball he wanted to bowl to Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock first up. He said he wanted to hit the fourth line and swing it away,” he continued.
“I told him to stand at the top of his mark, visualise the ball, and then execute it. And he did exactly that. If he can bowl like he did tonight and take early wickets, then we’re off and running,” he remarked.
With this victory, Punjab Kings moved to the top of the IPL 2026 points table, going past Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.