Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya for giving the match-deciding final over to Deepak Chahar against the Gujarat Titans (GT). He added that Hardik is more used to bowling at the death than Chahar as well. MI posted 155/8 after being asked to bat first and GT registered a three-wicket win via the DLS method as well.
Reviewing the MI-GT IPL 2025 clash in a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “The question was whether Hardik should have bowled the last over. Why was it given to Deepak Chahar? I would have loved him (Hardik) to bowl. There are two or three big reasons for that. If man-to-man marking is done, who bowls more overs at the death? It’s not Deepak Chahar.”
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“Hardik Pandya bowled the last over in the World Cup final. He won the trophy. So Hardik Pandya should have bowled. Secondly, if we again do man-to-man marking, Hardik Pandya bowls faster than Deepak Chahar. He can bowl faster, has an off-cutter variation, and a left-hander was at the other end,” he shared.
He again added that the entire Mumbai Indians think tank would have been involved in the decision-making process as well.
“That was a tactical mistake from the Mumbai camp because there are many analysts and knowledgeable people in the Mumbai camp. So it would have been a collective decision. I thought they just miscalculated it. Deepak Chahar could have bowled better, but I think Hardik made a mistake, and they lost crucial two points,” Chopra said.
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra also applauded Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Ashwani Kumar for bowling impressive spells against the Gujarat Titans.
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“Mumbai’s batting wasn’t good, but the bowling was excellent, whether it was Bumrah, Boult or Ashwani Kumar. Ashwani Kumar came as a concussion sub for Corbin Bosch. The three bowlers bowled incredibly well. Bumrah was outstanding. How does he do it alone? He came after the strategic timeout and first dismissed Shubman Gill and then Shahrukh Khan. It seemed like he would win the match, but how would he do it alone? Boult gave only 22 runs in his four overs. Ashwani also gave only 28 runs in four overs. You picked up six wickets in 12 overs of pace and conceded only a handful of runs,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
