Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned the tactics of the Delhi Capitals (DC) in their IPL 2021 Qualifier 1 where they faced a defeat to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday. They couldn’t defend 172 runs and with this loss, they will play in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday with the winner of the eliminator between KKR and RCB.
While talking about DC’s bowling effort, Aakash Chopra said that their seamers failed to stop Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa which cost them the game.
He explained: “You were waiting for someone to bowl a bouncer to Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa because they have been dismissed by bouncers. Nortje, Rabada and Avesh have the pace, but no one bowled a bouncer. Why they didn’t do that, I have got no idea.”
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He continued: “Ravichandran Ashwin, once again, bowled just a couple of overs. They are not giving him the full bowling, and Ravichandran Ashwin is also not bowling off-spin; he is just coming and bowling the leg-cutters. There is something that’s not right.”
Aakash Chopra, however, criticised Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant for his choice of bowler to bowl the penultimate over. And, he stated that Delhi Capitals committed far too many tactical mistakes and they themselves are at fault only as well.
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He elaborated: “Pant had options in the last two overs. Rabada, Tom Curran and Avesh Khan had an over left. Rabada didn’t bowl an over. Rabada has never been hit for a four by Dhoni, and Avesh had bowled poorly in the last match as well. Those scars were still fresh, and he had not bowled well in this match till now, but he (Pant) went to Avesh Khan for the 19th. Avesh Khan was hit, unsurprisingly.”
“You are searching for Rabada in the 20th over. He still doesn’t go to Rabada. He goes to Tom Curran. He does take a wicket off the first ball, but remember one thing, Tom Curran was hit for three consecutive sixes last year when nothing was going right for Chennai. Three fours in three balls this time,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
