How MS Dhoni Influenced Shashank Singh During Punjab Kings’ Thrilling Win Over Gujarat Titans
Punjab Kings rode on Shashank Singh’s 29-ball unbeaten 61 to ensure a three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024.
New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) unearthed a new superstar in Shashank Singh whose 29-ball unbeaten 61 powered Punjab Kings to a thrilling win over Gujarat Titans on Thursday. Coming in at when Punjab Kings were 70/4 in the ninth over, the Chattisgarh cricketer did the unthinkable with his whirlwind knock to grab the headlines, hitting six fours and four sixes in the process. Behind Shashank’s success, there is an MS Dhoni connection too.
Like every other young cricketer in the IPL, Shashank too had a chance to speak with two-time World Cup-winning former Indian skipper Dhoni as well. It was the former CSK’s skipper’s advice that helped the 31-year-old keep his nerves calm in the middle at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Whenever I have talked with Mahi Bhai (MS Dhoni), he always told me to take the game as deep as possible. He said when you take the game deep, the pressure on the bowler is as much as on the batter,” said Shashank during the virtual media interaction on Friday.
“It’s about who keeps the nerve calm. It is all about the mental thing to be as calm as possible.. I was doing deep breathing to keep myself calm and react to the ball. Sometimes you be over-smart and play rash shots, but I was just looking to react to the ball,” he added.
Probably playing in front of such a big crowd for the first time, Shashank didn’t let the pressure in him and he played sensibly, hitting a few smart and sensible shots as well. He first stitched a crucial 40-plus stand with Sikander Raza before forging another crucial partnership with Jitesh Sharma. His 43-run stand with Ashutosh Sharma paved the way for Punjab Kings’ win.
Shashank said the camaraderie between the two in the middle made it easier for batting. “I was talking with Ashutosh Sharma and he was talking with me in the middle. I was telling him if we were till the end, we would win the match.
“We were complementing each other very well and we had the belief in each other. We also have practised with the same scenarios of scoring 50-60 runs in four or five overs, which came into play as well. We have done it before in the practice games, and we believed each other,” Shashank added.