"It seemed Shikhar Dhawan was playing the hero's brother's role" - Aakash Chopra lauds Prabhsimran Singh's knock in Punjab Kings' win against RR

Aakash Chopra has lauded Prabhsimran Singh for overshadowing Shikhar Dhawan during their opening partnership in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) IPL 2023 win against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Prabhsimran smashed 60 runs off just 34 balls as PBKS set a 198-run target for RR in Guwahati on Wednesday, April 5. Their bowlers then restricted Sanju Samson and Co. to 192/7 to register a narrow five-run win.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on Prabhsimran Singh for playing a belligerent knock, elaborating:

"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."

The former Indian opener also lauded the other Punjab Kings batters for taking their side to a decent total, which seemed below-par at that stage, saying:

"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."

Shikhar Dhawan top-scored for PBKS with an unbeaten 86 off 56 balls. He scored his first 30 runs off as many deliveries before smoking 56 off the next 26 balls he faced.

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"The ball was like a wet bar of soap" - Aakash Chopra lauds Nathan Ellis' spell for Punjab Kings

Nathan Ellis ran through the Rajasthan Royals' batting lineup. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about the Punjab Kings' bowling, Aakash Chopra picked Nathan Ellis' spell as a game-defining performance, reasoning:

"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."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Australian seamer's spell might have created a selection conundrum for the Punjab Kings, explaining:

"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."

Ellis registered figures of 4/30 in four overs, with Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal and Riyan Parag being his victims. Arshdeep Singh (2/47) was the other wicket-taker for the Punjab Kings, although he proved quite expensive.