Ponting hails 'best win' as Punjab defend lowest total in IPL history

Ricky Ponting hailed it was "just about the best win I've ever had" in the Indian Premier League after his Punjab Kings successfully defended the lowest total in IPL history by bowling out defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders for 95.

The Australian great, who has been coaching in the IPL since 2014, said on the broadcast after Tuesday's match:  "The heart rate still up a bit for me. It's probably up over 200. I don't need many of those games like that and my age of over 50 now."

Ponting joined Punjab as head coach this season, tasked with bringing glory to a club who have yet to taste success. He said that this victory could be "a season-defining moment".

He added: "It was only three days ago we couldn't defend 246 (against Sunrisers Hyderabad) and here we are, defending 112 with 16 runs up our sleeves. 

"We said to the guys at the halfway mark, really small chases like this are sometimes the hardest. The wicket wasn't easy. You can see that right through the game it was definitely holding up."

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal ignited a sensational Kolkata collapse with 4-28 to deliver Punjab's 16-run win after the home team were dismissed for 111 in 15.3 overs in Chandigarh.

Kolkata were cruising at 2-62 in the eighth over before Chahal got a lucky breakthrough when captain Ajinkya Rahane declined to go for an lbw TV review that could have overturned the on-field umpire's decision.

Chahal, who had bagged only two wickets this season in five previous games, went on to dismiss top-scorer Angkrish Raghuvanshi (37) before the leg-spinner got rid of Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh off successive deliveries as Kolkata slumped to 7-76.

Australians Xavier Bartlett (1-30) and Glenn Maxwell (1-5) also chipped in with a wicket each.

Left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen (3-17) and Arshdeep Singh (1-11) then mopped up the tail quickly despite Andre Russell (17) showing a brief spark in smashing two sixes and a boundary.

The winning total of 111 beat Chennai Super Kings' 9-116 against Punjab Kings in 2009 as the lowest score defended in a full IPL match.

Victory lifted Punjab into the top four with eight points from six matches while defending champions Kolkata are sixth after four defeats and three wins.

Ponting had surprised many observers by appearing to drop compatriot Marcus Stoinis in full public view on the pitch minutes before the start.

Stoinis had scored 59 runs in five matches without taking a wicket. His replacement, another Australian, Josh Inglis, made only two but marked his tournament debut by catching Vaibhav Arora late on.

Ponting has ensured he has plenty of Australian resource at his disposal. Maxwell made seven and took the wicket of Venkatesh Iyer, while Bartlett – on IPL debut – contributed 11 and the wicket of Kolkata opener Quinton de Kock.

Meanwhile, Adam Zampa's 2025 IPL is over due to a shoulder injury, with the leg-spinner replaced in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad by Smaran Ravichandran. Zampa played two games this season as an impact sub, taking a wicket in each.

Australians at IPL 2025

Chennai Super Kings: Nathan Ellis ($365k)

Delhi Capitals: Mitch Starc ($2.15m), Jake Fraser-McGurk ($1.65m)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Spencer Johnson ($510k)

Lucknow Super Giants: Justin Langer (coach), Mitch Marsh ($623k)

Punjab Kings: Ricky Ponting (coach), Marcus Stoinis ($2m), Glenn Maxwell ($770k), Josh Inglis ($475k), Aaron Hardie ($228k), Xavier Bartlett ($146k)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.29m), Tim David ($547k)

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.7m), Travis Head ($1.2m), Adam Zampa ($440k)

2025 IPL standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Royal Challengers Bengaluru Men RCB	10	7	3	0	0	0.521	0	14
2 Gujarat Titans GUT	8	6	2	0	0	1.104	0	12
3 Mumbai Indians MI	10	6	4	0	0	0.889	0	12
4 Delhi Capitals Men DEL	9	6	3	0	0	0.482	0	12
5 Punjab Kings KXI	9	5	3	0	1	0.177	0	11
6 Lucknow Super Giants LSG	10	5	5	0	0	-0.325	0	10
7 Kolkata Knight Riders KKR	9	3	5	0	1	0.212	0	7
8 Sunrisers Hyderabad SUN	9	3	6	0	0	-1.103	0	6
9 Rajasthan Royals RAJ	9	2	7	0	0	-0.625	0	4
10 Chennai Super Kings CSK	9	2	7	0	0	-1.302	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points