"The momentum totally shifted after that" - Aakash Chopra on Arjun Tendulkar's 31-run over in Punjab Kings' IPL 2023 win vs Mumbai Indians

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Arjun Tendulkar's extremely expensive over changed the course of the game in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) favor in their IPL 2023 win against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

PBKS, who were 118/4 after 15 overs, took 31 runs from the 16th over bowled by Tendulkar and ended up setting a massive 215-run target for MI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, April 22. Their bowlers then restricted the home team to 201/6 to complete a 13-run win and climb into fifth spot in the IPL 2023 points table.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted how the assault on Arjun Tendulkar gave the required impetus to the Punjab Kings innings, explaining:

"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."

The former Indian opener lauded Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma for playing explosive knocks during the second half of the Punjab Kings innings, saying:

"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."

While Curran smashed a 29-ball 55, Jitesh smoked 25 runs off just seven balls. Harpreet Singh Bhatia also scored a crucial 41 off 28 balls and strung together a 92-run fifth-wicket partnership with Curran.

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"In my opinion, the Player of the Match was Arshdeep Singh" - Aakash Chopra lauds Punjab Kings pacer's spell

Arshdeep Singh registered figures of 4/29 in his four overs. [P/C: iplt20.com]

However, Aakash Chopra picked Arshdeep Singh's spell as the game-defining performance for the Punjab Kings, reasoning:

"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."

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the Punjab Kings seamer rocked the Mumbai Indians both at the start and the end of their chase, elaborating:

"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."

The Mumbai Indians required 16 runs off the last over bowled by Arshdeep. The left-arm pacer conceded just two runs while also castling Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera off consecutive deliveries, breaking the middle stump on both occasions.