Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Jofra Archer after Rajasthan Royals registered a 50-run win against Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Saturday.
Archer struck twice in his first over of the innings, removing Priyansh Arya and PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer when RR was defending a par score of 205. The England pacer got the youngster with a beauty whereas Iyer exposed his stumps to play a big shot but didn’t make any connection. Iyer had already got two boundaries but played a poor shot on the last ball of the over.
Towards the end, Archer dismissed Arshdeep Singh and returned with impressive figures of 3-25 in his quota of four overs. Thus, he was adjudged Player of the Match for his fine spell and the home team was restricted to a paltry score of 155-9.
During RR’s batting innings, Archer was seen having a nap in the dressing room.
“Jofra was sleeping when Rajasthan were batting. He said he didn’t want to see the bowlers getting hit. Then, suddenly, someone woke him up. Everyone might take offense, so I won’t say. I was reminded of the guy who used to wake up after sleeping for six months,” Chopra said on YouTube Channel.
“He woke up and hit Priyansh Arya’s stumps with his first ball. After that, Shreyas Iyer hit two shots against him, and then Shreyas Iyer also got out. The guy did an incredible job in the first over, and the story had changed from there itself,” he added.
Meanwhile, PBKS batter Nehal Wadhera continued his good form, scoring 62 runs off 41 balls against RR. Wadhera had also scored an unbeaten 43 against Lucknow Super Giants.
“Nehal Wadhera – a very good guy. He is a Punjab boy who was with Mumbai. He plays extremely well. You remember the knock he played in Lucknow as well and say what a player he is. He does clean hitting. He is a special talent. If the Mumbai scouts have found someone, he is actually a good player,” he said in the same video.
The renowned commentator said the game was almost out of PBKS’ range despite Wadhera and Maxwell’s partnership.
“They (MI) are unable to keep everyone with them, but these kids flourish wherever they go. Nehal Wadhera is very, very good. Glenn Maxwell also played well for some time. He was hitting fours and sixes, but the asking rate had gone above 12 at the 10-over stage. It’s almost impossible to maintain that for 10 overs,” Chopra observed.
PBKS will next take on Chennai Super Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Tuesday.
