Veteran cricketer turned renowned commentator Aakash Chopra has said that the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) fate is no longer in their hands as it’s now dependent on other teams to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2021 as well. He said after seeing yet another defeat of them against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday.
However, the Mumbai Indians team has suffered a four-wicket defeat recently and currently they are tied with three other teams with 10 points from 12 matches, but they have the worst net run rate than others. While reflecting on their loss on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that the Rohit Sharma-led side has a huge task ahead of them.
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He explained: “Mumbai is not going to 16. The Mumbai Indians’ fortune is no longer in their own hands because they cannot go beyond 14 points. There can be a three-way or four-way tie. Delhi almost lost, last year they lost all four matches to Mumbai but this year have defeated them both times.”
While talking about their playing XI, he shared the Mumbai Indians should go with Jayant Yadav considering the experience in the Delhi Capitals’ batting lineup.
Aakash Chopra said: “Mumbai played Jayant Yadav, there is a red-ball specialist and a white-ball specialist, and then there is one Delhi Capitals specialist. That is the bowler Jayant Yadav. They play him every time they play Delhi, whether you play in Chennai, Dubai or Sharjah.”
He continued: “The start was interesting. Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Avesh Khan and De Kock by Axar. Suryakumar Yadav made runs, he made 33 but got out playing a bad shot. Saurabh Tiwary, Pollard, Hardik Pandya – everyone tried but they reached only till 129.”
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“The Mumbai Indians proved once again that they are not playing fearlessly this year, they are playing timid. Batting first or second, they are just not looking the team that they are, that they are capable of,” he concluded.
However, Mumbai Indians will need to win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their two remaining league games to keep their hope alive.
