"He Played Really Well": PBKS Skipper Shikhar Dhawan Lauds Shashank's Blitz Against GT

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 5 (ANI): Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shikhar Dhawan heaped praise on Shashank Singh's match-winning knock against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and said that the batting allrounder played really well. Shashank's unbeaten 61-run knock helped the Punjab-based franchise clinch a three-wicket win over Gujarat on Thursday. He played at a strike rate of 210.34 and smashed 6 fours and 4 overhead boundaries. While speaking at the post-match presentation, Dhawan said that they planned to have a kickstart in the second inning but "unfortunately" they failed to score runs during the powerplay.

The Punjab skipper praised both Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh for building a crucial partnership in the end.

"It was an amazing game, very very close, I'm glad the boys did the job. The plan was to give a good start but I got out unfortunately but we were around 60 runs at the end of the powerplay, we kept building partnerships and Shashank came in and played really well. The way Shashank came in and hit those sixes, it was brilliant, the way he hit the ball, it looked effortless. He started from No. 7 and is now showing his positive mindset. He is playing in the IPL after a long time and he played so well. I will also mention about Ashutosh, he came in and played a good knock under pressure," Dhawan said.

Summarizing the match, Gill struck the highest individual score of the IPL 2024 - 89* and Rahul Tewatia came at the end to play a short cameo of 23* in a mere 8 delivers to power Gujarat Titans to 199/4 in the first inning.

In reply, Shashank Singh's (61*) blitz and Ashutosh's (31) rattled GT as they chased down the target and clinched a three-wicket victory for the Punjab Kings.

Following the win, the Punjab-based franchise stands in fifth place in the IPL 2024 standings with four points. On the other hand, Gujarat holds the sixth place with four points. (ANI)