Aakash Chopra was left scratching his head over SunRisers Hyderabads surprise move of fielding Vijayakanth Viyaskanth instead of Mayank Markande in their IPL 2024 showdown against the Punjab Kings. Chopra highlighted the woes in Hyderabads bowling lineup this season while applauding the young batters of Punjab Kings for shining in the absence of almost all their overseas players.
Viyaskanth managed to secure figures of 1/37 during his four overs as PBKS established a target of 215 runs for SRH in Hyderabad on that Sunday in May. The hosts accomplished the challenging task of chasing down the target with four wickets and five deliveries to spare enabling them to advance to the second position on the points table and secure their place in Qualifier 1. The subsequent game of the day between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) unfortunately succumbed to the weather.
In a YouTube video about the first innings, Chopra questioned SRH’s preference for Viyaskanth over Markande, who has eight wickets in seven games in IPL 2024.
“When I saw Hyderabad, I was a little surprised. They played Viyaskanth for sure but they didn’t play Mayank Markande. He (Viyaskanth) is your overseas resource. If you have to play a leg-spinner, play Mayank Markande. He (Markande) bowls better than him. There is no doubt about that.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener said that the SRH bowlers continued to be reckless, as they had done throughout the IPL 2024.
“If Hyderabad have a weakness, that is a bit of their bowling because when they post such huge totals, the truth is also that they concede a lot of runs and consistently. When they score 250-280, then also the opposing team makes 200-250. Bowling has been a bit of an issue and here also the bowlers were slightly expensive.”
Aakash Chopra
T Natarajan (2/33 in four overs) was the only SRH bowler who allowed fewer than nine runs per over. While Nitish Kumar Reddy (0/54 in three overs) was dismissed, Shahbaz Ahmed gave up 13 runs in his lone over.
“They gave Hyderabad a taste of their own bitter medicine” – Aakash Chopra on Prabhsimran Singh and Atharva Taide
Reflecting on Punjab Kings batting Aakash Chopra cheekily remarked that Prabhsimran Singh (71 runs off 45 balls) and Atharva Taide (46 runs off 27 balls) tore apart the opposition reminiscent of the SRH openers aggressive approach.
“When you have nothing to lose, you have the entire world to gain. Punjab showed that might slightly. They won the toss and batted first. Prabhsimran Singh and Atharva Taide batted extremely well. They gave Hyderabad a taste of their own bitter medicine.”
Aakash Chopra
The well-known pundit commended Prabhsimran’s all-out aggressiveness and Taide’s attractive stroke play.
“Prabhsimran Singh used his feet. There is not even a single defensive bone in his body. Atharva Taide is very attractive to watch. He is short-statured and plays very well with the straight bat. In fact, both batters hit down the ground and used the straight bat very well.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also praised Rilee Rossouw (24-ball 49) and Jitesh Sharma (15-ball 32) for helping PBKS set a difficult goal for SRH.
“Rilee Rossouw also scored runs. In the end, it seemed like he was probably trying to play for his fifty. The one thing about Rilee is that when he scores runs, he scores quickly. Shashank Singh got run out and Jitesh Sharma played a captain’s knock and overall the team reached 214.”
Aakash Chopra