Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has added that Ravindra Jadeja couldn’t give the required push to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) innings in their IPL 2024 clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). However, Jadeja scored an unbeaten 57 off 40 balls as CSK posted a 177-run target in Lucknow on Friday, April 19.
While talking about CSK’s batting in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Jaddu had to be sent up the order. Jaddu scored a fifty and stayed unbeaten till the end as well but he couldn’t accelerate in the end the way you expect from him. If you have been sent at No. 4, got to bat almost in the powerplay and you stay till the end, you should score 70-80 runs in 40 balls. The thinking is like that but he didn’t reach there.”
“What a guy he (Dhoni) is. When he comes, people bowl a wide yorker to him on the first ball. If that becomes a wide or he hits over cover, everyone comes under pressure. Then they are unable to bowl to him. He hit over cover, hit Yash Thakur for a six when he bowled at the stumps, then on the off side, and a 360-degree shot against Mohsin Khan. An upgraded and updated version has come. MS Dhoni 2.0, 3.0, 5.0 – God knows. He is telling others that the lion has gotten old but is still No. 1 while hunting,” he further added.
However, MS Dhoni scored an unbeaten 28 off just nine balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. While talking about CSK’s innings, Aakash Chopra claimed that Rachin Ravindra’s consistent failures are a matter of concern as well.
“The start was not good. In my opinion, it’s a problem. Chennai have won four games and will play the next three at home and might win all three. They might qualify and lift the trophy as well but the truth is that they are not batting that well because Rachin Ravindra is not doing well. If Rachin doesn’t do well, suddenly you feel that the opening partnership is not happening at all. If a team doesn’t have opening partnerships, it’s rare for them to do well for long. So they are stuck. Ajju (Ajinkya Rahane) played for some time and scored runs as well,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
