IPL 2023: Aakash Chopra Opines on Arjun Tendulkar’s 31-run Over against Punjab Kings

Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that Arjun Tendulkar’s extremely expensive over turned the table in the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) favour in their IPL 2023 win against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

PBKS, who were 118/4 after 15 overs, scored 31 runs from the 16th over bowled by Arjun Tendulkar and ended up posting a massive 215-run target for Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, April 22. Their bowlers then restricted the opponents to 201/6 to register a 13-run win and jumped into the fifth spot in the IPL 2023 points table. While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra opened up on how the assault on Arjun gave the required impetus to the Punjab Kings innings, saying:

“Not even 85 runs were scored in the first 10 overs. After that, there was a question of whether they would even be able to score 160 but they reached 214. There was an Arjun Tendulkar over which went for 31 runs and the momentum totally shifted after that.”

He also applauded Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma for playing stunning knocks during the second half of the Punjab Kings innings. While Curran hit a 29-ball 55, Jitesh smashed 25 runs off just seven balls. Harpreet Singh Bhatia also hit a crucial 41 off 28 balls and added together a 92-run fifth-wicket partnership with Curran as well.

IPL 2023: Arjun Tendulkar made headlines with his over

He said: “Sam Curran hit a lot, he played a captain’s knock, and he was not alone. Jitesh Sharma was on a six-hitting drive. There is no doubt that the team was weak because Shikhar Dhawan was not there, but Punjab showed how the five fingers are combined to make a fist and throw a punch.”

However, Aakash Chopra named Arshdeep Singh’s spell as the game-defining performance for the Punjab Kings as well. He also added that the Punjab Kings pacer dismantled the Mumbai Indians‘ batting order both at the start and the end of the innings.

The Mumbai Indians required 16 runs off the last over bowled by Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm pace bowler gave away just two runs while also removing Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera off consecutive balls, breaking the middle stump on both occasions as well. He said:

“In my opinion, the Player of the Match was Arshdeep Singh. When it is a high-scoring game, the batters cancel each other out, a lot of runs are scored from both teams and the batters are praised but one bowling spell can change the game for you and Arshdeep Singh did that job.”

“He dismissed Ishan Kishan at the start. Then the last over was unbelievable. He picked up a wicket before that as well. He first dismissed Suryakumar Yadav who was flying high. He then gave just two runs in the 20th over and picked up two wickets – four wickets in total,” Aakash Chopra concluded.