Manoj Tiwary, the former Indian cricketer, gave a cryptic statement about Ricky Ponting regarding the Punjab Kings' batting order against KKR. He scolded the coach for preferring Australian players to in-form Indian players, stating that this attitude could cost the Shreyas Iyer-led side a chance at the IPL crown. Punjab Kings had a day to delight in batting against Kolkata Knight Riders. The 44th game of IPL 2025 saw Eden Gardens, Kolkata, host the match on Saturday (April 26) but unfortunately, the rain played havoc after the first innings. Batting first, the Punjab Kings went strong. Priyansah Arya (69) and Prabhsimran Singh (83) smashed half-centuries and applied pressure on KKR bowlers consistently. They batted in complete control and kept the scoreboard going doing all the right things with the bat. The opening pairing put on a 120-run partnership before Priyansah Arya took the long walk back. Skipper Shreyas Iyer (25*) came in to bat at No.3, but what transpired was shocking. Taking the coach's call, not for the first time, Ricky Ponting directed Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, and Josh Inglis in for the finish in the last few overs; they struggled to make a lasting impact. Fans thought Nehal Wadhera or Shashank Singh would get a chance next, but that didn't happen. Punjab Kings, meanwhile, squandered the opportunity of going for an even bigger score and could only manage 201, which should have been substantially more than 220. Manoj Tiwary blasted coach Ricky Ponting as biased towards Australian players, saying such lack of trust in Indian players would only deprive Punjab Kings of their much-deserved title. My gut feeling says that punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal wadera and Shasank singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they… — MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) April 26, 2025 Also Read: Kavya Maran’s Reaction Goes Viral After SRH Collapse vs MI Priyansh Arya reflected on his innings after the match and thanked Ricky Ponting for all his encouragement. He commented: "I think it's a good total as the wicket is on the slower side. Ricky sir advised us (openers) to rotate the strike after the powerplay and take it deep. I enjoy batting with Prabhsimran, he gives good advice. Tells me when to advance down the track. I know I have the ability and working with (Ricky) Ponting sir is helping me, he is always positive and asks us to be aggressive."