The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) celebrated on June 3, 2025, after finally lifting the illusive trophy after 17 years. Though it was an exciting moment for the Bengaluru franchise, it was heartbreak for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), who were unable to cap off their great season on a high note, falling short by six runs in the important chase and losing the trophy in the end.
PBKS head coach and former Australian legend Ricky Ponting also commented on the setback, in which they failed to chase down the total of 190. Ponting noted that the team lacked experience in the middle order, which may have hampered them in the game. However, he remained certain that the same middle order will win them many games in the future.
While some claimed that the pitch in Ahmedabad slowed in the second innings, Ponting refused to accept such excuses, citing the fact that one of their finest performers in the final, Shashank Singh, believed otherwise.
“You can look at the team tonight and say, ‘It was probably a little bit of inexperience that cost us.'” Maybe a little more experience in the middle order today might have benefited us, but what I know is that they’ll win us a lot of games in the future,” Ponting remarked, as published by The Hindu.
“No, I do not think so (on the pitch). There are no excuses from us or from me; in fact, Shashank stated at the end of the game that it was the finest surface he had batted on all season,” the former Australian cricketer added.
We just lost some momentum at a vital time. Ricky Ponting
Ponting, who took over as head coach of PBKS this year, backed up his comments by recounting what went wrong in the match and what caused the shift in momentum. The renowned player stated that it was most likely the final few overs of the powerplay that prompted concern and resulted in many wickets falling in the middle.
“We just lost a bit of momentum at a critical time, probably the last couple of overs of the powerplay, you could feel that momentum just started to go away a little bit, and then [again] probably [in] the four or five overs outside the powerplay, we just lost momentum [and] we lost critical wickets,” the three-time winner of the World Cup said.
“They [RCB] undoubtedly thought they were a little short with the bat in the first innings,
And we were really pleased to be able to chase 190. But, as I have stated, I will not offer any excuses; we just were not good enough,” he concluded.
India
