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Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) remarkable journey to the IPL 2025 final wasn’t built on star power or experience — it was fueled by boldness, unburdened youth, and an unwavering commitment to play aggressive cricket. That made their six-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sting a little more — because, for the first time all season, they blinked.
Led by Shreyas Iyer, PBKS fielded a batting lineup low on international experience. Of the top-order, only Iyer is a capped India player — and even he isn’t a regular in all formats anymore. Their foreign recruits — Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis — were either underused, underperforming, or not consistently available. But none of it mattered. Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, and Nehal Wadhera played fearless, high-risk, high-reward cricket throughout the campaign.
That fearlessness faltered — subtly, but decisively — in the final. PBKS went unusually quiet in the powerplay. At 32 for 0 after four overs, they hadn’t lost wickets, but neither had they gained momentum. This was unlike them. They usually went hard, even if it meant collapse — as they had when bowled out for 111 or 101 earlier in the season.
Their coach Ricky Ponting was candid:
“Maybe a little bit of experience in that middle order today might have helped us out.”
RCB frontloaded Josh Hazlewood, bowling three overs in the first four — an unusual tactic clearly aimed at early wickets. PBKS’s response was tentative. They respected the bowlers, avoided risk — but also let the initiative slip.
Ponting pointed to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s fourth over as the missed opportunity:
“You know, when you have a really good defensive over, it's really important that the next one you go after. And we weren't able to do that.”
The pressure mounted. A spectacular boundary-line catch by Phil Salt to dismiss Arya symbolised the moment PBKS’s campaign lost its breath.
To Ponting’s credit, he stood firm behind his young squad’s philosophy:
“One thing I've told this group is always taking the game forward… If you're worried about getting out, you can't play the game well.”
This was not just a team overachieving. This was a blueprint being built in public — and Ponting knows it’s only just the beginning.
“These younger guys are going to be around this team for a long time… and I think they’re going to win us a lot of games going forward.”
Captain Shreyas Iyer has largely flown under the radar this season, but his calm leadership and smart bowling changes helped PBKS reach their first IPL final since 2014. He lauded his team’s fight and the bowling effort that restricted RCB to 190 — a total that looked chaseable until the innings stalled.
For a franchise long associated with inconsistency, PBKS 2025 was a breath of fresh air. Ponting’s vision of a “daring, dynamic, and different team” had come to life — and nearly pulled off a fairytale. That they couldn’t cross the finish line isn’t failure — it’s a foundation.
“We feel like we let one slip,” Ponting admitted. “But we’ll be back. Bigger and stronger.”
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