Steve Smith has passed his verdict on Shashank Singh’s IPL performance before PBKS’ match against SRH.
Little-known Shashank Singh raised his stocks in the Indian Premier League 2024 by playing a blinder against former champions Gujarat Titans. The Punjab Kings batter smashed a quick-fire half-century to help Shikhar Dhawan’s PBKS side record a stunning three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans on Thursday. Interestingly, Shashank joined Punjab Kings in dramatic fashion at the IPL 2024 auction.
Punjab Kings’ Shashank Singh plays a shot during the match against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, at Narendra Modi Stadium (ANI)
After Punjab Kings acquired Shashank’s services at his base price of INR 20 lakh during the IPL 2024 auction, PBKS owners Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta tried to express their reservations about signing the right player. However, PBKS later issued a clarification and welcomed Shashank with open arms. Punjab Kings said that Shashank was always on the IPL giants’ target list. Repaying the franchise’s faith, Shashank delivered the goods against Gujarat as PBKS recorded their second win of the new season.
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Speaking to Star Sports on Cricket Live, former Australian skipper Steve Smith reflected on the incredible knock of the PBKS star. “Yeah, it was incredible. They wanted to put Shashank Singh back in the auction, but I’m not sure they’d want to do that now. That was an incredible knock. 61 of 29 balls, that was great to witness, under pressure, that partnership in the back end was outstanding. So the game has everything; it went right down to the wire,” Smith said. Batting at a strike rate of over 200, Shashank smoked four sixes and smashed six fours in his entertaining knock of 61 off 29 balls.
Shashank remained unbeaten as PBKS chased down the 200-run target in 19.5 overs at the Narendra Modi Stadium. England’s Stuart Broad also credited Shashank for taking PBKS over the finish line in the high-scoring thriller at Ahmedabad. “Yeah, after 10 overs of the Punjab Kings innings, I thought it was almost game done, to be honest. I thought the Titans were fully in it with Rashid Khan still having some overs to bowl. But Shashank came out and just found the boundary with ease, particularly his pull shots that were just flying into the stands, and he deserved that. It wouldn’t have been fitting for him to have finished on the losing side. He really dragged his team over the line in these final few overs,” Broad added.
