Former India opener Aakash Chopra has praised Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer after his match-winning performance against Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2026. The cricketer-turned-commentator called Shreyas a modern-day chase master and compared his recent performances in big-run chases with Virat Kohli.

Punjab Kings overcame Mumbai Indians to secure a dominant seven-wicket victory at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 16. Chasing a target of 196 runs, Shreyas Iyer and opening batsman Prabhsimran Singh produced a phenomenal partnership to close out the contest with 21 deliveries remaining.

He is the new master of the chase: Aakash Chopra praises Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer scored 66 off 35 balls, hitting five fours and four sixes against the Mumbai Indians. After his third consecutive successful chase, Aakash Chopra stated that the Punjab Kings captain consistently finishes high-pressure matches.

“He is the new master of chases. We are talking about Virat Kohli. If we name him after someone else, it is an achievement in itself, but the truth is that his numbers are like yours. He has an average of 65 and a strike rate of 180 in chases in the last two years,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“He goes after finishing the match. He came out this time, but the match was already over. He had also come out against Chennai, but the match was already over. He must have come out once or twice, otherwise the average would have been 80. Shreyas is not knocking at the door. He is going to knock it down. He is batting like this,” he observed.

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Shreyas Iyer continues in good form with impressive numbers in IPL 2026

Shreyas Iyer was dismissed by Naman Dhir off Shardul Thakur when Punjab needed just 12 runs. He has scored 203 runs in five matches at an average of 67.67 and a strike rate of 187.96. The middle-order batsman is his franchise’s second-highest run-scorer behind Prabhsimran Singh.

Iyer has an impressive win percentage of 56.02 in his career as an IPL captain. He has led three franchises in the last eight years and won the title with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024.

Apart from leading the Punjab Kings, he also serves as vice-captain of the Indian ODI team. He later returned to the T20 setup ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, Iyer was not included in the World Cup squad after Tilak Varma returned from injury.

This kid is playing very well – Aakash Chopra on Prabhsimran Singh

Prabhsimran Singh remained unbeaten after scoring 80 off 39 balls, including a magnificent back-foot knock against Jasprit Bumrah. Aakash Chopra praised his mature approach and noted that he maintained his composure and avoided attacking every delivery during the big chase.

“This boy is playing very well. He is usually a striker. He tries to play every ball aggressively, but he didn’t this time. He had scored 20 runs off 10 balls in the beginning, sure, he was going at a strike rate of 200, but a lot of overs had been bowled. He was happy sitting in the non-striker’s side. He said he would take it deep and not bowl his wicket,” he said.

“This was a very high-quality innings. You saw controlled aggression. The way he played against Jasprit Bumrah, there was a back-foot flick towards cover, sometimes things happen, seeing who says the guy is in form. It’s praiseworthy in itself if you hit a shot like that against Jasprit Bumrah,” Chopra observed.

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