Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has shed light on Punjab Kings’ six-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals at New Chandigarh on Tuesday. Chopra reckons the Mohali-based franchise lost the game as soon as they made changes to their playing combination.

The previous season’s runners-up added Suryansh Shedge, Harpreet Brar, and Lockie Ferguson to their playing XI. However, Chopra said the table-toppers didn’t lose because of the trio but the changes didn’t work in their favour.

“Suryansh Shedge, Harpreet Brar, and Lockie Ferguson were seen playing. The Punjab Kings made changes to the team for the first time in this tournament, or else they were playing an exactly identical team. They made a change for the first time and lost their first match. I am not saying they lost because of them, but the changes didn’t really work out in their favor,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

The renowned analyst heaped praise on Yuzvendra Chahal, who returned with impressive figures of 3-36 in his four overs.

“Yuzi Chahal needs to be praised. Everyone got hit, but Yuzi Chahal was outstanding. He is a grandmaster. If Punjab have a problem, it’s that all their bowlers’ economies have been more than 10, and the same happened this time as well. Arshdeep Singh was very expensive. The situation was very bad there. That is one thing that is troubling Punjab a little,” he observed.

Chopra praised Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who smashed a quickfire knock of 62 runs off just 22 balls, including four fours and six maximums.

“Punjab scored 222 runs. Marcus Stoinis did beast batting in the end. He ran at a strike rate of nearly 300. He was hitting sixes one after the other. He was also promoted slightly in the batting order, which is again a credit to Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer,” he said.

Punjab Kings will next take on Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Sunday.