The video of PBKS dugout not celebrating Shashank Singh’s fifty vs GT went viral but what exactly happened in Ahmedabad?
Shashank Singh reached his maiden IPL half-century off 25 balls in the 18th over of the Punjab Kings’ chase against the Gujarat Titans at Motera in Ahmedabad. One could excuse the Narendra Modi Stadium crowd for not showing too much enthusiasm. From a position of strength, the situation was just getting tight for the home team. PBKS still required 31 runs off 14 balls with only four wickets in hand but Shashank and Ashutosh Sharma were going strong. But what about the PBKS dugout? Shouldn’t they have been stoked about Shashank’s knock? On any other day, this perhaps should not have been a question. But on Thursday, it was.
PBKS dugout didn’t give any reaction when Shashank Singh reached his fifty vs GT
There was no reaction from the PBKS dugout. Not even a smile. There was death silence. Former India opener, Aakash Chopra, who was in the Hindi commentary box at that time, could not believe it.
Hindustan Times – your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.
“It’s death silence here. No one acknowledged the half-century. His team also didn’t do it. What is happening? He’s got a 50 off 25 balls at a strike rate of 200. He has kept your team alive. He’s your team’s CPR,” Chopra said.
The video spread like wildfire on social media. There was obviously the past instance of the auction where there was a lot of drama surrounding Shashank Singh and whether PBKS even wanted the batting all-rounder in their team.
Surely the PBKS dugout would not be holding it against the 31-year-old cricketer. At least not when he was keeping them alive in a 200-run chase. But it did seem odd that no one from the dugout gave a reaction to that wonderful innings. So what exactly happened there?
Amid a host of criticism, there were a few who pointed out a glitch in the scoreboard. When Shashank got to his fifty, the giant screen on the ground showed he was on 49. It could well happen that no one in the PBKS dugout realised that he had reached a well-deserved half-century. In fact, Shashank himself showed no reaction.
PBKS dugout didn’t give any reaction when Shashank Singh reached his fifty vs Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024
It cannot be said with certainty what exactly happened there but the way the PBKS dugout celebrated when Shashank took them home in the last over clearly suggests there is nothing wrong between the player and the franchise.
Shashank remained unbeaten on 61 off 29 balls during which he hit six boundaries and four sixes to guide PBKS home with a ball to spare.
He was ably supported by Ashutosh Sharma (31 off 17) as the duo shared 43 runs off just 22 balls to raise PBKS’ hopes, which eventually came true.
“They (senior players) are the legends of the game, but when I go to bat I think I am the best. You get experience, couldn’t get a lot of matches before. Here the owners and coaching staff backed me. I was very confident,” said the 32-year-old all-rounder, who outshone GT skipper Shubman Gill on the day with his pyrotechnics and winning mentality.
The Player-of-the-Match added that the victory is yet to sink in.
“(Win) still trying to sink in. Visualised all these things, but when it turned into reality, proud of the effort. The coach told me to react to the ball. The wicket is very good, the bounce was good. 200 scored by both teams, so the wicket was fantastic,” he added.
