Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has praised SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Rahul Tripathi for playing a fighting knock in the Qualifier 2 win against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He also added that the right-hander shakes his body as a pre-delivery ritual before launching an attack on the bowlers as well. SRH posted a 176-run target on Friday, May 24 and then restricted RR to 139/7 to register a 36-run win and seal a spot in the final against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as well.
Reflecting on SRH’s batting in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “When they came to bat first, Abhishek Sharma scored 12 runs in the first over but got out. Trent Boult and wickets in the first over is going differently. GST is not charged as consistently as he gets batters out. He didn’t take one or two but three wickets. Travis Head was playing slowly but didn’t get out. Rahul Tripathi played well in the middle.”
“When you see Rahul Tripathi’s batting, the way he moves, a voice comes from your heart at times – Shake well before use. It’s written on top of many things. It seems like it sets perfectly on Rahul Tripathi because he shakes his body and then plays very well. It was a fighting and attacking knock, a short but important knock,” he again added.
However, he hit five fours and two sixes in his 15-ball 37 and added 42-run second-wicket partnership with Travis Head (34 off 28) as well. Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra also applauded Heinrich Klaasen for scoring a valuable fifty and showcasing his unique hitting ability as well. While saying that Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abdul Samad didn’t live up to expectations, the veteran appreciated Shahbaz Ahmed for taking SRH to a fighting total.
“After that, a good knock came from Heinrich Klaasen. He is brilliant. What a guy, how well he plays. Does anyone play spin better than him? He hits full balls for sixes off the back foot. If you pitch further up, he hits straight. If Trent Boult bowls straight, he hits a flat six. He scored a fifty and took his team to a total from where they could have fought. Nitish Reddy and Abdul Samad were very disappointing because you were expecting that they would eventually score runs. Shahbaz Ahmed scored a few runs and took the team beyond 170,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
