Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has expressed surprise about the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) playing Vijayakanth Viyaskanth ahead of Mayank Markande in their IPL 2024 match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). While saying that bowling has been their weak link this season, Chopra praised the young PBKS batters for showcasing their potential in the absence of their overseas players.
However, Viyaskanth registered figures of 1/37 in four overs as PBKS set SRH a 215-run target in Hyderabad on Sunday, May 19 as well. The hosts chased the target down with four wickets and five balls in hand to climb into second position on the points table.
Reflecting on the first innings in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “When I saw Hyderabad, I was a little surprised. They played Viyaskanth for sure but they didn’t play Mayank Markande. He (Viyaskanth) is your overseas resource. If you have to play a leg-spinner, play Mayank Markande. He (Markande) bowls better than him. There is no doubt about that. If Hyderabad have a weakness, that is a bit of their bowling because when they post such huge totals, the truth is also that they concede a lot of runs and consistently. When they score 250-280, then also the opposing team makes 200-250. Bowling has been a bit of an issue and here also the bowlers were slightly expensive.”
He also added that the SRH bowlers continued to be profligate. T Natarajan (2/33 in four overs) was the only SRH bowler to give away
less than nine runs per over as well. While Nitish Kumar Reddy (0/54 in three overs) was taken to the cleaners, Shahbaz Ahmed gave away 13 runs in his only over. Aakash Chopra also added that Prabhsimran Singh (45-ball 71) and Atharva Taide (27-ball 46), much like the SRH
openers have been doing.
“When you have nothing to lose, you have the entire world to gain. Punjab showed that might slightly. They won the toss and batted first. Prabhsimran Singh and Atharva Taide batted extremely well. They gave Hyderabad a taste of their own bitter medicine. Prabhsimran Singh used his feet. There is not even a single defensive bone in his body. Atharva Taide is very attractive to watch. He is short-statured and plays very well with the straight bat. In fact, both batters hit down the ground and used the straight bat very well. Rilee Rossouw also scored runs. In the end, it seemed like he was probably trying to play for his fifty. The one thing about Rilee is that when he scores runs, he scores quickly. Shashank Singh got run out and Jitesh Sharma played a captain’s knock and overall the team reached 214,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
