Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Punjab Kings opener Prabhsimran Singh after they registered an eight-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday.
Singh scored a brilliant knock of 69 runs off just 34 balls while chasing a below-par score of 172 runs for the win. The right-hander smashed nine fours and three sixes as he scored at a strike rate of 202.94.
The Punjab batter completed his fifty off just 23 balls as he batted at the top of his game. Singh was retained by PBKS ahead of the auction and he was able to prove his mettle.
“They (PBKS) retained two players. Both were uncapped Indians – one was Shashank Singh and the other was Prabhsimran Singh. They had a choice to retain either Ashutosh Sharma or Prabhsimran Singh. They said they would let Ashutosh go and keep an opener as Prabh has been with them for a long time,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“There was a question whether they had made a mistake but Prabh said that wasn’t the case. He likes this ground, and he played very well. He played ramps at the start, then hit powerfully over cover and the leg side. He even played a Lagaan shot. I was listening to Bhajji’s (Harbhajan Singh’s) commentary. He batted well overall,” he added.
On the other hand, the renowned commentator hailed PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored an unbeaten knock of 52 runs off just 30 balls. Iyer also scored a match-winning knock of 97 runs in the opening game against Gujarat Titans.
“Shreyas Iyer showed maturity. When Prabhsimran Singh was hitting, he was taking singles. He did hit a six over cover when he got an opportunity, but only singles otherwise. He hit sixes with both the hook and pull shots when bouncers were bowled. He is batting beautifully in capital letters,” he said.
The former KKR player also hailed impact substitute Nehal Wadhera, who scored 43 runs off just 25 balls in the run-chase.
“Nehal Wadhera was sent as an Impact Sub. They didn’t send Glenn Maxwell or Marcus Stoinis, and I thought that was a good move because you want everyone to get their form at some stage. Nehal hit sixes one after the other. He is a serious, serious talent, and he showed a proper example of that by playing incredible shots,” Chopra observed.
Punjab Kings will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Saturday.
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