The former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra believes that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) might be able to add the 2024 IPL trophy to their previous two title wins in 2012 and 2014. The Shreyas Iyer-led side was the first team to qualify for the playoffs after defeating the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Kolkata on Saturday, May 11.
Mumbai Indians (MI) were given a 158-run target by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after having won the toss and opting to bowl first. Due to bad weather conditions, the match was only set for 16 overs. But the hosts were able to defeat MI (five-time IPL trophy winners) for 138/8, having registered an 18-run victory to conquer the first spot in the points table.
KKR hai taiyaar- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra shared a video on his YouTube channel of the KKR vs MI match and opined that the KKR were ready to add their third champions trophy.
“KKR hai taiyaar. Ami KKR- it is their rule because this team has discipline and have done a great job. They won the game and also became the first team to qualify. There is no doubt that they will finish in the top two. I feel they are extremely close to the trophy- 2012, 2014, and 2024 is loading,” Chopra stated.
The former Indian opener lauded Venkatesh Iyer after KKR’s innings, considering their (KKRs’) batting strategy.
“Hardik (Pandya) won the toss and decided to bowl, which was the right thing to do as well. The start was very good- Sunil Narine was out for zero, Phil Salt got out after hitting a six. After that, Venkatesh Iyer played well but Shreyas Iyer got out. Venkatesh Iyer likes Mumbai a lot. He plays very well against this team,” Chopra reviewed.
Chopra praised the KKR’s lower-middle-orders batters for their supremacy and opined that the target wasn’t that much of a challenge for the Mumbai Indians (MI).
“Nitish Rana returned, so Angkrish Raghuvanshi went out. Andre Rusell was promoted and played a good knock. Rinku Singh played a good hand in the end and so did Ramamdeep Singh. Overall, you reached a fighting score. I wasn’t 100% sure that it was a winning score if Mumbai batted to their potential,” Chopra noted.
Venkatesh scored 41 off 21 deliveries, Nitish Rana made 33 off 23, Andre Russell (24 of 14), Rinku Singh (20 off 12) and Ramandeep Singh scored 17* off 8.
It was an extremely ordinary knock – Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma’s innings in the Mumbai Indians’ chase
Chopra mentioned that Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma had a very conflicting chase.
“They (MI) didn’t bat to their potential. Ishan Kishan, who ran at a strike rate of 200 before he got dismissed, did that. However, Rohit Sharma – it was an extremely ordinary knock. The form hasn’t been seen at all in his last six innings. It has gone totally missing,” he further mentioned.
The commentator opined that the Mumbai Indians were kept from scoring higher due to Suryakumar Yadav’s sluggish 11 runs off 14 balls.
“24 runs off 19 balls – it means he (Rohit) batted for four overs and scored 19 run. If we see Suryakumar’s runs also along with that and combine their overs, you feel how would it work out in the rest of the overs because you needed 10 runs per over. The fact remains that they got outplayed once again,” Chopra noticed.
Aakash Chopra concluded by shedding light on KKR having qualified for the playoffs despite Shreyas Iyer’s sluggish performance, Rinku Singh not being able to connect his bat with the ball, and Mitchell Starc being off-grid. Chopra pondered that if all three of them started to regain their form, it would be a menace to the other teams.
Also Read: IPL 2024 : KKR Look To Make It Two In Two Against MI And Line Up Top-Two Finish In IPL 2024