Shreyas Iyer played a captain's knock as Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by seven wickets on Saturday (May 23) at Ekana Cricket Stadium to stay alive in the IPL 2026 playoff race.
Chasing a target of 197, Shreyas remained unbeaten on 101 off 51 balls to take PBKS over the line with two overs to spare. The skipper stitched a match-defining 140-run partnership with Prabhsimran Singh, who smashed 69 off 39 to help the cause.
Reflecting on the win, PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting acknowledged that the team had faced a difficult time in recent weeks but praised the players for responding under pressure.
"We've done it the hard way, let's put it that way. We've done what we needed to do today. Sloppy in the field again, gave them 20 more runs than what they should've got. Pretty clinical chase, especially being in trouble early," Ponting said while speaking to broadcasters.
Ponting placed immense emphasis on Iyer’s temperament and leadership, indicating exactly why the franchise was willing to invest heavily on him during the auction.
"The captain, he's done that all season. That's his first IPL century tonight. We'll celebrate that and then we'll sit around and wait for those results tomorrow," the Australian legend stated.
"There's a reason I spent as much money at the auction as I did a couple of years ago (on Iyer). He's a ripping guy, very mature player now, very mature leader. More often than not keeps his emotions in check on the field."
Ponting also highlighted the deep respect Shreyas Iyer has earned within the dressing room. "The respect he has from his players is second to none. The moment he stands in front of the group and speaks, not a single eye ball leaves a single word he says. Delighted to work with him. Really happy on the season he's had," Ponting added.
The coach expressed delight over Iyer returning to the Indian ODI squad and strongly advocated for him to become a regular fixture in the Indian T20 team in the future.
"Great to see him back in the Indian one day team. I really think there's a bigger, brighter future for him in the Indian T20 team as well," he remarked.
With this win, the franchise reached 15 points in 14 league matches, temporarily securing the 4th spot. While PBKS broke their six-match losing streak, they still remain dependent on other results to officially seal a playoff spot.
Ricky Ponting admitted Punjab’s dramatic dip in form in the latter half of the tournament had hurt their campaign.
"The level of cricket we played in the first half was a level I've never seen before. And then we just made some crucial errors at different times in the last six games," he said.
Ponting also commended Prabhsimran Singh for continuing his impressive season and credited the young opener’s growing self-belief.
"Terrific player. It's probably only been the last couple of years that he has realised how good he is. Him and Priyansh have been outstanding for us the last couple of seasons. Seeing him play a mature innings tonight in a good run chase will do him a world of good," he stated.
With their playoffs fate dependent on Sunday’s results, Ponting said the squad would be closely following the remaining fixtures.
“We'll try to get the boys together and watch it (the RR-MI game). I haven't got many fingernails left. By tomorrow afternoon, they could be a whole lot shorter,” he concluded.
