Aakash Chopra has joked that the Delhi Capitals (DC) haven’t been able to open up their account in IPL 2023 because they still need to complete their KYC paperwork. On April 8 at Guwahati, Rajasthan Royals opted to bat first & set a target of 200 runs for DC. Their bowlers limited David Warner and company to 142/8, resulting in a 57-run victory and the Capitals’ third consecutive defeat.
Speaking of the match between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals in a video posted on Chopra’s YouTube channel, he said
“There were a lot of expectations that Delhi would register their first win & open their account. However, they have not yet completed their KYC paperwork. These days, you can’t get an account functioning without doing KYC paperwork.”
Speaking on the Delhi Capitals’ chase, Aakash Chopra emphasised how Trent Boult placed them behind the eight ball from the first over, saying, “Prithvi Shaw was dismissed in the first over, & Manish Pandey right after him. Based on data from 2019, Trent Boult has taken 19 wickets in the opening over of matches and is taking things to a whole new level.”
Sanju Samson superbly caught Prithvi Shaw behind the wickets off the third ball he faced. Shaw went into the dressing room with a score of zero. The Capitals’ run chase got off to a terrible start when Manish Pandey was caught in front of the wickets on the next delivery.
Aakash Chopra questioned David Warner’s strategy while pointing out Rilee Rossouw’s reliance on the sweep shot, saying,
“Rilee Rossouw and reverse sweep. The number of sweeps he plays is unparalleled. He got out to R. Ashwin. Warner stayed in one spot, playing a run-a-ball from a standing position. A reasonable question would be why he was playing in that way. I don’t know what to say.”
Mr Chopra continued,
“The team will not win if you don’t accelerate,” implying that David Warner’s laborious knock was destined to fail. Aakash Chopra added, “This was not an inning that you often connect with David Warner. I don’t know if he could not accelerate or if he was trying to play in a different approach.”
Aakash Chopra continued
Chopra felt Warner could have played more aggressively, even though the Delhi Capitals lost several wickets
“I understand that wickets were falling from the other end, but we are talking about David Warner, not a kid. David Warner is capable of doing that. He has over 6000 runs in the IPL and over 60 half-centuries, including yesterday. It believed he would be in charge of the assault against the opponents, but that never happened.”
Besides Warner, Lalit Yadav scored 38 runs off 24 balls, while Rossouw got 14 runs off 12 balls. Only these two batsmen for the Delhi Capitals scored in the double digits, and Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets for the Rajasthan Royals.