"He took Rashid Khan down" - Aakash Chopra lauds PBKS batter's knock in IPL 2025 win vs GT

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Shashank Singh for playing a calculated knock in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) IPL 2025 win against the Gujarat Titans (GT). He particularly appreciated the uncapped Indian batter for taking Rashid Khan to the cleaners.

Shashank smashed an unbeaten 44 off 16 deliveries as PBKS set GT a massive 244-run target in the two sides' IPL 2025 opener in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, March 25. The visiting team then restricted Shubman Gill and company to 232/5 to register an 11-run win.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the cricketer-turned-commentator noted that two uncapped Indian batters performed brilliantly for PBKS in their IPL 2025 clash against GT. As for Shashank, he said (13:30):

"Shashank Singh, the way he batted. The thing that gets highlighted about him is that he has cricketing smarts. He knows which fielder is standing where and where the bowling will be, and he hits fours according to that. He knew they would bowl short balls against him, so he played the ramp. When they bowled a yorker, he dug it out and hit a four towards cover."

"Another thing that got highlighted, which has been happening since last year, was that he took Rashid Khan down. He pulled him when he bowled short, hit him straight when he bowled full and straight, and hit a four towards cover when Rashid Khan went slightly wide," Chopra added.

Shashank Singh struck six fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 44. Both his maximums and a boundary came off five balls he faced from Rashid Khan.

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"He plays with courage" - Aakash Chopra lauds Priyansh Arya's knock in PBKS' IPL 2025 win vs GT

Priyansh Arya scored 47 runs off 23 deliveries in PBKS' IPL clash against GT. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Priyansh Arya for giving the Punjab Kings a flying start in their IPL 2025 clash against the Gujarat Titans.

"Priyansh Arya bats left-handed and has come after hitting six sixes in an over in the Delhi Premier League. He has got wonderful hands. He stays inside the line of the ball and accesses the off side extremely well. He plays with courage. Arshad Khan dropped a catch, which was probably a slightly game-changing kind of thing," he said.

The former India opener praised the Delhi youngster for the way he handled GT's experienced seam-bowling trio of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Kagiso Rabada.

"However, he kept hitting fours, and I thought he would score a fifty on debut, but he got trapped against Rashid Khan. He plays very well on the off side, but he hit a straight drive. If someone can hit a straight four like that, he has got the quality. If you can play well against Siraj, Prasidh and Rabada, you have got the quality," Chopra observed.

Priyansh Arya struck seven fours and two sixes during his 47-run knock. He added 51 runs for the second wicket with Shreyas Iyer (97* off 42) in just 3.3 overs after Prabhsimran Singh had been dismissed for an eight-ball five.