Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Shashank Singh after Punjab Kings claimed an 11-run win against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Tuesday. After Shubman Gill decided to bowl first, PBKS posted a par score of 243 runs on the board.
Singh, who was retained by PBKS before the IPL 2025 mega auction, scored a blistering knock of 44 runs off just 16 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes. The right-hander took 23 runs off the final over against Mohammed Siraj and scored his runs at a strike rate of 275.
He also took the attack against Rashid Khan, taking 20 runs in the 18th over of the innings.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Shashank Singh, the way he batted. The thing that gets highlighted about him is that he has cricketing smarts. He knows which fielder is standing where and where the bowling will be, and he hits fours according to that. He knew they would bowl short balls against him, so he played the ramp. When they bowled a yorker, he dug it out and hit a four towards cover.”
“Another thing that got highlighted, which has been happening since last year, was that he took Rashid Khan down. He pulled him when he bowled short, hit him straight when he bowled full and straight, and hit a four towards cover when Rashid Khan went slightly wide,” Chopra added.
On the other hand, the reputed commentator hailed 20-year-old Priyansh Arya, who scored 47 runs off 23 balls on his IPL debut for PBKS. Chopra said the left-hander played with courage in his maiden knock in the tournament.
“Priyansh Arya bats left-handed and has come after hitting six sixes in an over in the Delhi Premier League. He has got wonderful hands. He stays inside the line of the ball and accesses the off side extremely well. He plays with courage. Arshad Khan dropped a catch, which was probably a slightly game-changing kind of thing,” he said.
Punjab Kings will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday.
