'One who plays badly stays behind': Virender Sehwag singles out Josh Inglis, Nehal Wadhera while discussing Punjab Kings' defeat

Discussing Punjab Kings' defeat in the IPL 2025 final, legendary cricketer Virender Sehwag singled out the knocks of Josh Inglis and Nehal Wadhera as the key reason. read more
Legendary Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag did not mince his words as he singled out Josh Inglis and Nehal Wadhera for Punjab Kings' (PBKS) narrow defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final on Tuesday. The IPL 2025 points table leader, PBKS, agonisingly fell short by just six runs in the 191-run chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad as their top-order failed to fire at the biggest stage.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Also Read | PBKS' strength turns into weakness as RCB brutally expose their batting in IPL final
On a slightly slowish track, RCB did well to post 190 despite most of their batters failing to convert the starts into a fifty. Virat Kohli was the top run-getter with 43 while Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma scored in the 20s.
PBKS faced the same issue as openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh scored 24 and 26 respectively, while Inglis made 39 and Wadhera struggled big time with a knock of 15 off 18 balls. Shreyas Iyer got out for 1.
Also Read | IPL 2025 Award Winners List: Orange Cap, Purple Cap, Emerging Player and others winners
While the Punjab openers did not stay in the middle for long, they set the foundation, but Inglis and the middle-order failed to capitalise. The 30-year-old Australian Inglis scored an attacking 39 off 23 but paid the price for playing one too many shots, while uncapped Indian batter Wadhera struggled to get going in the middle, which took away the momentum from PBKS.
Also Read | Full list of Indian Premier League winners following Bengaluru's historic triumph in Ahmedabad
Shashank Singh hit 61 not out off 30 balls from the No.6 slot, but the acceleration came very late as RCB won their maiden IPL title.
Sehwag slams Inglis, underlines Wadhera's struggles under IPL final pressure
Sehwag pointed out that someone from the top three needed to score a match-winning knock for PBSK to win the IPL final and he felt Inglis was the batter who should have done that. He also highlighted how the pressure of a final match made Wadhera completely ineffective in the chase.
'Every RCB batter got starts, but no one played a big innings. The same happened with PBKS,' Sehwag told Cricbuzz. 'If Inglis had scored 60-70, then the job was done. If what Shashank did at the end had been done earlier by Inglis, then there would have been no slowdown. He would not have been out and somebody from the other end would have also played, runs would have come, the pressure would not have come.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'The pressure comes when you lose wickets. Your hands start shaking, thinking if I get out. That's why you are not able to connect. That's why Nehal Wadera made 15 off 18 balls. If only he had made 26 off 18 balls, PBKS could have won. This is the pressure of the final, the pressure created by the fall of wickets. The one who plays well in such pressure blossoms and the one who plays badly stays behind. Maybe it was his first final, he doesn't have experience, first time such a situation came. It's different to bat in this situation in a normal match than in the final. I think that was what they lacked.'
Sehwag also felt that a few runs from the openers could have also completed the job for PBKS. 'If they had at least one batter from the top three (playing good). The start wasn't poor, they scored 52 in powerplay, which was eight less than 60. If only they had got those eight runs at the start, then they would not have been required to chase that eight runs at the end.'
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Hindustan Times

9 minutes ago

• Hindustan Times

Gavaskar takes U-turn from ‘Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' Rishabh Pant meltdown, impressed with India star's batting vs ENG

Rishabh Pant has been under constant attention since making his India debut. The talented wicketkeeper-batter has received rave reviews when he has won matches for India single-handedly, but has also fallen victim to harsh criticism when he hasn't been able to take his side past the finish line. One such incident saw him on the receiving end of some harsh words from none other than, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar. During a Test match against Australia, Pant was dismissed for 28 runs, after some poor shot selection and it left Gavaskar absolutely livid. Sunil Gavaskar was left impressed by Rishabh Pant's batting vs England. Speaking on ABP Sport radio, he said back then, 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! He should not be going into that (India's) dressing room - he should be going into the other dressing room!' The 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' phrase went viral and even Pant recreated it in a viral video. But now Gavaskar has taken a U-turn from his previous harsh criticism of Pant, and was left in awe during the ongoing first Test match between India and England, in Leeds. On Day 1, Pant remained unbeaten after scoring 65* off 102 balls, and showed maturity, alongwith aggression. He took on Ben Stokes on just his second ball, slamming him for a four, straight down the ground. But after that, he showed maturity as he was cautious against Shoaib Bashir, registering only 16 off his next 44 balls. His approach left Gavaskar visibly impressed. Speaking on Sony Sports, he said, 'It seems like that's how he plays. When he comes in to bat, on the second or third ball, he often uses his feet and hits a boundary. It makes him feel free and then allows him to play the way he wants. Over here, he's been measured in his approach—giving himself time out in the middle. But once he's in and the bowlers start to tire, that's when he begins to step down the pitch and really attack, hitting big shots, sixes, and boundaries.' 'Because he gives himself that time early on, it becomes easier for him to play those aggressive strokes later. When he defends, he seems to have so much time against the pace bowlers—it almost looks like he's taking the mickey out of them, saying, "Look, I've got all the time in the world; I don't need to play a big shot, I'm just middling the ball. He's got enormous talent. I've seen him score hundreds in South Africa and Australia, and they've been absolutely unbelievable. There's such a great blend of defence and attack—starting with solid defence and then shifting to attack,' he further added. India reached 359/3 at Stumps, and Pant (65*) will resume batting with new captain Shubman Gill, who got a ton. Gill remained unbeaten at 127* off 175 deliveries.

The Hindu

11 minutes ago

• The Hindu

India vs Kyrgyzstan U-23 LIVE streaming info: When, where to watch Naushad Moosa's team in the friendly match?

The Indian U-23 football team will take on Kyrgyz Republic in a friendly fixture at the Hisor Central Stadium on Saturday. In the previous friendly game earlier this week, India suffered a 2-3 loss against Tajikistan at the TALCO Arena in Tursunzoda. For the Blue Colts, these matches in Tajikistan are part of their preparations for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers that will be held in September. LIVE STREAMING/TELECAST INFORMATION When is the India U-23 vs Kyrgyz Republic friendly match? The India U-23 men's team friendly match against Kyrgyz Republic will be played on Saturday, June 21, 8:30 pm IST onwards at the Hisor Central Stadium. Where to watch the India U-23 vs Kyrgyz Republic friendly match LIVE? Second matchday for the U23 boys in Tajikistan! ⚔️ The #BlueColts take on Kyrgyz Republic today 👊 🇮🇳🆚🇰🇬 🕣 20:30 IST 🏟️ Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor 📺 Live on Football TV Tajikistan YouTube Channel #INDKGZ#IndianFootball ⚽ — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 21, 2025 Related Topics India U-23

Mint

16 minutes ago

• Mint

'It is my desire, my will to do well': Jaiswal opens up on his mindset while batting

Leeds [UK], June 21 (ANI): Following his maiden ton in England on Friday, Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal opened up and revealed his mindset and temperament while batting in the middle during the game. The left-hand batter played an exceptional innings of 101 runs off 159 balls, laced with 16 boundaries and a maximum in his innings. Speaking on his mindset while batting, Jaiswal said in a video posted by BCCI, "It is my desire, my will to do well. Whenever I come here, these things stay in my mind. I want to do well for my team and my country. I enjoy practising alone and preparing. I keep trying that every ball that I play will help me in difficult situations. Further, the 23-year-old player spoke about the intra-squad game between India and India A which was played at Beckenham, Kent's second home venue, where he faced right-arm seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana. "There are many moments when we are under pressure. I enjoy the moments that I like. For example, we played in Beckenham. Rana was bowling very well. Bumrah was also bowling very well. I was not able to run, but I was playing well. That thing gave me so much confidence. It gives me so much belief that I will play well. I will take out that time. I enjoyed playing and it was good," the southpaw added. The young cricketer joined former Indian skipper, Saurav Ganguly (131 at Lord's, 1996), Vijay Manjrekar (133 at Leeds, 1952), Sandeep Patil (129* at Manchester, 1982) and Murali Vijay (146 at Nottingham, 2014) to score Test ton in their first Test innings on English soil. Jaiswal achieved this feat in his outing against England on Day 1 of the first test of the five-test match series on Friday at Leeds Headingley. This is also the start of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for both nations. Among players who have played at least five Tests and scored at least 500 runs against England, Jaiswal has the highest average. In six Tests, he has scored 813 runs across 10 innings at an average of 90.33, with three centuries and fifties each. He is the seventh Indian batter to score a century at Headingley. This century of Jaiswal is the fifth of his test career, and it is worth noting that none of his five tons have come against Asian nations. Notably, he has slammed a century on his maiden Test outings in Australia, the West Indies, and England. Three of his centuries have come against England, and one each against Australia and the West Indies. Jaiswal was dismissed by England skipper Ben Stokes right after Tea on Day 1 for 101 runs, his innings included 16 fours and a six. (ANI)