Aakash Chopra has remarked that Mumbai Indians (MI) let victory slip away in their IPL 2024 match against the Gujarat Titans (GT), despite appearing to have it within their grasp. The Gujarat Titans set a target of 169 runs for Mumbai Indians (MI) after being put in to bat first in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24. The home team then successfully restricted the five-time champions to 162/9, securing a thrilling six-run victory.
They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory- Aakash Chopra on MI’s loss to GT
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra raised questions about Mumbai Indians’ ability to lose the match from a position of strength.
“Tell me, how did they lose? They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. You can say that about Mumbai and you can say about Gujarat that they know how to win from a losing position because they had no business of winning this game. Mumbai were running away, then how did you lose?”, he said.
I didn’t understand why he came so low in the batting order- Aakash Chopra on Hardik Pandya
Aakash Chopra highlighted that the Gujarat Titans were battling against the odds and expressed astonishment at Shubman Gill’s choice to entrust the final over to Umesh Yadav.
Gujarat did not have Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami. They also lost the toss and so much dew came later that a kid could swim, but despite that, Mumbai lost the match. I was slightly surprised that Umesh Yadav came to bowl the last over. Azmatullah Omarzai could have come but he didn’t,” Chopra explained.
Noting that Hardik Pandya nearly secured victory for Mumbai Indians in the final over, Aakash Chopra questioned the decision regarding the batting position of the team’s skipper.
Umesh Yadav – first ball went for a six and a four off the next ball. Hardik Pandya – absolutely rockstar, but why did you not come to bat earlier? Hardik Pandya, the leader, has to come up the batting order. I didn’t understand why he came so low in the batting order,” he elaborated.
Chopra also questioned Tilak Varma’s choice to decline a single, which prevented Tim David from facing Rashid Khan.
Bumrah is one of my three standout players- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra highlighted Jasprit Bumrah as the standout performer for Mumbai Indians during the Gujarat Titans’ innings.
Bumrah is one of my three standout players. He dismissed Wriddhiman Saha – what a perfect yorker. Then he dismissed David Miller with a slower one. Then Sai Sudharsan played a very good shot but was caught in the deep. It was a ‘Player of the Match’ performance although his team didn’t win the game,” he stated.
My second performer was Sai Sudharsan and my third was Mohit Sharma- Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator praised Sai Sudharsan for his mature innings of 45 off 39 balls for the Gujarat Titans.
My second performer was Sai Sudharsan, who eventually became the Player of the Match. He needs to be praised. This boy played well when his team stumbled a little. He started slowly but his wagon gathered pace after that. He is repeatedly playing with maturity and showing that he is one for the long haul, so you should stick with him,” Chopra elaborated.
Chopra further selected Mohit Sharma as the third standout performer of the game.
My third performer of the day is Mohit Sharma. The game changed when Rohit Sharma got out to Sai Kishore. After that, when Dewald Brevis got out off Mohit’s bowling, I think that was the game-changing moment. Mohit brought a twist in the match, a match that was totally going in Mumbai’s favor,” he reasoned.
Mohit Sharma delivered figures of 2/32 in his four overs. The right-arm seamer entered the attack when Mumbai Indians were in a strong position at 97/2 after 11 overs. He bowled a four-over spell and made a significant impact by dismissing Dewald Brevis and Tim David, key breakthroughs that defined the game.