'Lets Me Be Decisive': Shreyas Iyer Credits Ricky Ponting For Giving Him Freedom

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Last Updated:May 27, 2025, 09:09 IST

Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians connected Monday nighttime to unafraid a apical 2 spot.

PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer (left) with caput manager Ricky Ponting (BCCI Photo)

Punjab Kings’ skipper Shreyas Iyer connected Monday thanked caput manager Ricky Ponting for giving him the “freedom to spell retired and explicit myself" arsenic the broadside secured a spot successful Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 with a convincing seven-wicket triumph implicit Mumbai Indians.

Iyer joined PBKS aft starring Kolkata Knight Riders to their 3rd IPL rubric past play and made an contiguous impact, guiding the Punjab squad to its archetypal playoffs since 2014.

“The camaraderie has been determination for the past fewer years betwixt Ricky and me. He gives maine a batch of state and lets maine beryllium decisive connected the field. All these things person culminated successful a large way," Iyer said astatine the post-match presumption ceremony.

“Every idiosyncratic stepped up astatine the close time. From the archetypal game, we’ve been successful the mindset of wanting to triumph contempt the situation. Players person enactment their hands up erstwhile we were successful pugnacious spots. Kudos to the enactment unit and absorption too.

“Ricky has been fantastic with subordinate management. It’s important for maine to get spot arsenic well, and that happened with the aboriginal wins. I’ve had conversations with them too. You person to support bully relationships throughout. I consciousness the dressing country has been top-notch," helium added.

Iyer besides praised Priyansh Arya (62 disconnected 35 balls) and Josh Inglis (73 disconnected 42) for their superb performances.

“The mode Priyansh started was fabulous. Young players are fearless and they tick the boxes successful the nets. The effects of the mentation are present showing connected the field.

“Inglis is the lone subordinate whose presumption has been changing. Since helium loves playing the caller ball, I wanted him to play much deliveries. It worked wonders. We cognize he’s destructive and a big-match subordinate with a large attitude," helium said.

MI skipper Hardik Pandya believed they were 20 runs abbreviated of a winning score.

“The mode the wicket played, we were decidedly 20 runs short. That happens, we’ve been playing truly bully cricket but couldn’t play our champion today.

“We were decidedly 20 runs short. We could person capitalized either astatine the commencement oregon successful the middle. We’ll fig it out," helium said.

Pandya said it was a wake-up telephone for MI earlier heading into the playoffs.

“IPL is similar that, this franchise has won 5 trophies, it has ever been tough. Anytime you instrumentality the ft disconnected the accelerator, the different teams are besides keen to win. The connection would beryllium simple, this was conscionable a blip, larn from this and look guardant to the knockouts," helium said.

He said MI’s bowling portion was not objective connected Monday.

“They truly took connected definite balls whenever we erred and I don’t deliberation arsenic a bowling portion we were clinical. We gave immoderate balls which they capitalized connected and astatine times, they played immoderate bully shots arsenic well.

“Overall, we were not up to the mark."

With PTI Inputs

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News cricket 'Lets Me Be Decisive': Shreyas Iyer Credits Ricky Ponting For Giving Him Freedom