Shashank has played very well this season. He is also very kind. He is also a special player. To be a player like him is a big deal. The way he is playing is unbelievable.'' Jonny Biarstow reacted after Punjab Kings' record-breaking win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Friday night.

Punjab's win over Kolkata Knight Riders was incredible in itself. Kolkata batted first and scored 261 runs for 6 wickets in the match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It was taking, saying that such a score is enough for victory even in Twenty20 cricket.

But English batter Biarstow and Shashank Singh were weaving a different story in their minds. This win by Punjab is the highest score ever achieved by any team while chasing the target. Further, Punjab scored 262 runs for the loss of two wickets using only 18.4 overs. Earlier, the record for successfully chasing in the second innings was held by South Africa.

He won against West Indies in 2023 by scoring 258 runs for five wickets. Biarstow is being talked about more in Punjab's win now. After all, he scored 180 runs in it, that too not out. He was the 'player of the match'. While presenting the same award, he praised Shashank. Indeed, these Indian batters also contributed equally to this victory. He remained unbeaten on 68 off 28 balls.

When the IPL started this time, everyone was curious, who is this Shashank? Shashank's contribution seems to be the same if we return to the Eden Garden game. As he came to the crease after Punjab lost two wickets, the game was far from his grasp. He was promoted and sent up to play. At first he seemed somewhat restrained. But once things opened up, he ended up scoring a strike of 242.85, which included 2 fours and 8 sixes. 

Probably who Shashank is, everyone has already got this answer. Even before the start of the match in the same Eden Garden, a story was being told. According to that, Punjab bought Shashank by mistake in the auction. There were two players named Shashank Singh in that auction. One was 32-year-old Shashank and the other was 19-year-old Shashank. At first the name of Kishore Shashank came up, no one showed interest in him. 

This Bengal player has not even played first-class cricket yet. Soon after this Shashank's name came up, Punjab bought him for 2 million Indian rupees. He played for Sunrise Hyderabad last season. The dramatic turn came when Punjab owners Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta raised their hands and said they wanted to reverse their decision on Shashank. But the decision was made, 'Once bought, it cannot be returned.' 

Now Shashank of Chhattisgarh has become a special player for Punjab this time. He has scored a decent average of 65.75 in the 9 matches he has played so far. His strike rate is 182.64 and he has scored 263 runs. In this process, he has also scored two fifties. In the meantime, the Indian media has written very well, the mistake made by Punjab during the auction is now working. It was a mistake, but Punjab has really benefited from it.

Perhaps Punjab is fed up with hearing such things and he has officially said, "We want to officially say that buying Shashank Singh was our goal. There is a dilemma because there are two players with the same name. We are happy to have him as our player and we believe that he will contribute more to the success of the team.''