"He Did Exactly That": How Ricky Ponting's Advice Helped Arshdeep Singh Rattle Mumbai Indians In IPL 2026
Arshdeep Singh returned with impressive figures of 3 for 22 in his quota of four overs against Mumbai Indians.
- Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh returned with impressive figures of 3 for 22 against Mumbai Indians
- PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting revealed he had a conversation with the fast bowler ahead of the match
- Arshdeep had a plan and Ponting advised him on how it could be executed. "He did exactly that," said the coach
Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh was on top of his game against Mumbai Indians during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. The left-arm fast bowler returned with impressive figures of 3 for 22 in his quota of four overs. His performance helped him earn the Player of the Match award as Punjab eventually won the game by seven wickets to go to the top of the points table. The Shreyas Iyer-led team remains the only unbeaten side in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
Arshdeep struck twice in consecutive deliveries to reduce Mumbai Indians to 12 for 2 in 2.2 overs. He removed Ryan Rickelton and then claimed the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav on the very next ball. Later in the innings, he cleaned up Sherfane Rutherford with a terrific yorker.
"He's almost an over-trainer. He probably trains too much, and sometimes ends up building bad habits into his game. But yesterday, he came down on his own and did 30-40 minutes of spot bowling to refine a few things and improve his release," said PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting on JioHotstar.
"If you've watched him closely, he just wasn't getting that shape with the new ball that we're used to seeing. He worked hard on it yesterday and then executed an almost perfect first over today," he added.
The head coach revealed that he had a conversation with Arshdeep ahead of the match against MI. The pacer had a plan and Ponting advised him on how it could be executed.
"I had a chat with him before he went out to bowl. I asked him what exact ball he wanted to bowl to Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock first up. He said he wanted to hit the fourth line and swing it away," Ponting said.
"I told him to stand at the top of his mark, visualise the ball, and then execute it. And he did exactly that. If he can bowl like he did tonight and take early wickets, then we're off and running," he added.
Punjab Kings
Mumbai Indians