Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting showered praise on Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy after they secured their place in the first qualifier of the ongoing IPL 2025. PBKS claimed a seven-wicket win against Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur on Monday to seal their top-two position in the standings.

PBKS ended the league phase with nine wins in 14 matches with four losses and one no-result. Iyer played an instrumental role in the success of the Mohali-based franchise as he led from the front. The right-hander from Mumbai has scored 514 runs in 14 matches at an impressive average of 51.40 and a strike rate of 171.91.

Ponting and Iyer had also worked together as a coach-captain duo for Delhi Capitals and had led the team to the final of IPL 2020.

Ricky Ponting said after the win while talking to the official broadcasters, “It was pretty obvious with the amount of money we spent on him (during the auctions), we wanted him here, I’ve worked with him in the Delhi Capitals, didn’t get the trophy there, but he’s a man who has been so good and has a sparkle for captaincy, he has led this team superbly, he has led the team from the front, has gained the trust of the players and that’s a big thing.”

On the other hand, Ponting also showered praise on Priyansh Arya, who continued his good form, scoring another fine knock of 62 runs off just 35 balls against MI in the run-chase of 185.

Ponting added, “Plenty of youngsters in the team, Prabhsimran is probably only 23 or 24 and he has almost 500 runs this season. Priyansh Arya, 4 or 5 games into the tournament, I thought he was going to be the find of the season. They’ve been backed up by the experienced players around and the results are here to see.”

Punjab Kings will face either Royal Challengers Bengaluru or Gujarat Titans in the first qualifier at Chandigarh on Thursday.