Shreyas Iyer's game-changing masterstroke to nullify Mayank Yadav revealed: 'Was a surprise call for LSG to see him...'
Ricky Ponting explained how the decision to promote Josh Inglis to number three was made by Shreyas Iyer, to try and attack Mayank Yadav early.
Punjab Kings got their three-match homestand in Dharamsala off to a rocking start, comfortably disposing of Lucknow Super Giants with a 37-run victory at the HPCA Stadium. A first innings total of 236-5 set the tone, with the majority of the batting order contributing as PBKS took early control of the match.
A surprising move made by the PBKS management was to send Josh Inglis in to bat at number three, a position that has been occupied by captain Shreyas Iyer throughout the tournament. However, coach Ricky Ponting explained that the decision was one made by the captain himself, opting to promote Inglis due to a tactical reason.
"It was actually a move that the captain came up with. He thought on that sort of pitch, against that bowling attack, that it would be the right thing to if a wicket fell early to send Inglis in,” explained Ponting at the press conference. “We felt that Mayank would bowl early on. If you look at the way he bowls, he generally bowls reasonably short. And that's one of Inglis' great strengths, as you saw tonight. Those pull shots were pretty amazing straight away."
Inglis immediately took the attack to Mayank Yadav in just the second over of the innings after the early dismissal of Priyansh Arya. On three consecutive deliveries, Inglis pulled Mayank over the boundary, speeding his way to 22 off just his first 4 deliveries and putting all the pressure onto the LSG bowling unit.
The decision also protected captain Iyer from the express pace of Mayank Yadav, with Inglis departing after scoring 30(14), Iyer coming in at 4 to add 45(25) in a powerful performance.
Punjab head to top two in IPL table
Ponting also explained how it allowed for a middle order core of domestic players that could control the innings. "It then also allows us to have Iyer, [Nehal] Wadhera and Shashank [Singh] through the middle of the innings, which is what we thought would be crucial for us in tonight's game as well.”
"So, yeah, I mean, it was probably a surprise call for LSG to see him go out and it paid off for us tonight,” said Ponting of the tactical decision. “So once we got off to a [start], I think we were 70-odd at the end of the powerplay, all the momentum was going with us.”
After setting a target of 237, Arshdeep Singh was the hero with the ball, taking the wickets of LSG’s strong top three in a phenomenal opening burst, burying the chase within the powerplay itself. Despite a good partnership between Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni, LSG never got close to being competitive during the chase, and Punjab Kings all but nail down their participation in the playoffs as they move into second in the IPL table.
