South African legend Dale Steyn sent a touching message for Shashank Singh after his heroics against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday (April 28) at Eden Gardens.
The right-handed batsman continued his impressive run in IPL 2024 to help PBKS to a record 262 runs against the two-time IPL champions in their own backyard. When asked to bat first, KKR posted a mammoth total of 261/6 in the allotted 20 overs. Phil Salt and Sunil Narine once again shone with the bat, scoring 75 and 71 runs respectively to propel KKR to their second total of over 260 this season.
In reply, PBKS chased down the huge total in 18.4 overs. Jonny Bairstow was the architect of the victory with his unbeaten century, while Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh scored blistering half-centuries. Prabhsimran set the tone for the chase by smashing an 18-ball fifty inside the powerplay before Bairstow took charge.
After Rilee Rossouw departed for 26 runs in the 13th over, Shashank Singh took charge of the innings. PBKS still needed 84 runs in less than eight overs when Shashank Singh came out to bat. He fired on all cylinders from the start to propel PBKS to a historic victory. The right-handed batsman smashed two fours and eight sixes to remain unbeaten on 68 off just 28 balls.
Message from Dale Steyn to Shashank Singh:
Dale Steyn was quick to react to Shashank Singh’s impressive knock against KKR. Shortly after the PBKS batsman starred with the bat in the record chase, the former South Africa pacer took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his delight at the batsman’s performance.
Recalling the time when Shashank Singh was with Sunrisers Hyderabad, the former SRH bowler and coach praised the batsman for his attitude and performance against KKR, writing:
“I couldn’t be happier for Shashank! He was with us at SRH a few years ago, he’s a hard worker, a great team guy, gives it his all and always has a smile on his face.
“Well done my friend! Well deserved 👏”
I couldn’t be happier for Shashank! He was with us at SRH a few years ago, he is a great worker, a great teammate, he gives his all and always has a smile on his face.
Well done my friend! Very deserved 👏
– Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) April 26, 2024
‘Wrong buy’ Shashank Singh stars in IPL 2024:
Shashank Singh has been one of the few positives for PBKS this season. He is currently the team’s leading run scorer. In nine matches, he has scored 263 runs with the help of two half-centuries. He has an average of over 65 and a strike rate of over 182 in IPL 2024.
It’s a notable turnaround for a player who grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons during last year’s auction. PBKS bought it accidentally or mistakenly at the last auction. The franchise wanted to buy a different player but ended up with him.
PBKS even requested the auctioneer to revoke the bid, but it did not happen. Shashank responded to the incident in style by being the top batsman for PBKS in the ongoing IPL 2024.