IPL 2023: Aakash Chopra Praises Prabhsimran Singh’s Knock against Rajasthan Royals

Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has praised Prabhsimran Singh for overshadowing his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan during their partnership in the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) IPL 2023 win against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday, April 5. He smashed a quickfire 60 runs off just 34 balls as PBKS posted a total of 198-run for RR in Guwahati. Later, their bowlers restricted Sanju Samson and Co. to 192/7 to register a thrilling five-run win.

While reviewing the match in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra applauded Prabhsimran Singh for playing a belligerent knock. He also lauded the other Punjab Kings batters for stepping up on time and putting up a decent total, which seemed below-par at one point also. He added:

“Rajasthan Royals opted to bowl after winning the toss. When they came to bowl – Prabhsimran, how well he hit. He has been fantastic both times he has batted. Last time he scored all 23 runs before he got out and here also it seemed Shikhar Dhawan was playing the hero’s brother’s role. He (Dhawan) was going at a run-a-ball and the other boy was actually flying. Shikhar Dhawan changed gears as soon as Prabhsimran left. No one was taking the name of stopping, whether it was Jitesh Sharma or Shahrukh Khan. They kept going and reached 197 overall, which I felt was less.”

IPL 2023: Punjab Kings register a nail-biting win

Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan top-scored with an unbeaten 86 off 56 balls. He scored his first 30 runs off as many deliveries before smacking 56 runs off the next 26 balls he faced as well. While speaking about the Punjab Kings’ bowling, Aakash Chopra chose Nathan Ellis’ spell as a game-defining performance. He added:

“The Player of the Match in my opinion was Nathan Ellis. The ball was like a wet bar of soap, where everyone got hit a lot on a high-scoring ground and the bowlers were struggling. There this bowler came and picked up four wickets, which included Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal’s wickets.”

However, Aakash Chopra further added that the Australian seamer’s spell might have created a selection conundrum for the Punjab Kings team as well. Notably, Ellis registered figures of 4/30 in his four overs, with Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal and Riyan Parag being the wickets as well. Arshdeep Singh (2/47) was the other wicket-taker for the Punjab Kings, but he was quite expensive in the game.

“I would say well done Nathan Ellis. He has done so well that when Kagiso Rabada becomes available, you will feel whether you should play him or not because this guy is doing so well and you cannot leave out any overseas batter in any case. So what should you do? That’s their problem, not yours or mine,” Aakash Chopra concluded.