Aakash Chopra expressed his personal observation that Yuzvendra Chahal the spin bowler for Rajasthan Royals (RR) has been underwhelming ever since his selection in Indias squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Despite his expertise in legspin Chahal returned unimpressive figures of 0/34 in four overs during RRs loss to the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2024 Qualifier 2.
After being assigned to bat first in Chennai on Friday, May 24, SRH set RR a goal of 176 runs. Pat Cummins and company then held the Royals to 139/7, securing a 36-run victory and a spot in the final against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the same site two days later.
In a video posted on his YouTube page, Chopra commented on the Rajasthan Royals’ bowling, stating that Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin failed not meet expectations.
“It was expected that spin bowling would take a lot of wickets in this match because this is Ashwin’s ground and Yuzi Chahal would also shine as the pitch had spin and Hyderabad’s record against leg spin is extremely ordinary. Eight overs of spin were bowled, in which 77 runs were scored. This is crazy.”
“Yuzi Chahal’s form has dipped a little. He bowled well in the last match against RCB but if you see Chahal’s numbers after selection, you will find a slight dip. Ashwin didn’t try to spin the ball much in this match. It seemed like he was bowling a little too fast. So he also leaked a lot of runs.”
Aakash Chopra
On the other hand, Chopra hailed the Rajasthan Royals seamers for throwing powerful spells.
“The fast bowlers picked up wickets, whether it was Sandeep Sharma, the yorker he bowled to get Heinrich Klaasen out, Avesh Khan, who took two wickets in two balls, or Trent Boult, who had already picked up three wickets. Eight wickets fell (apart from a last-ball run-out) and all of them went to pacers.”
Aakash Chopra
Ashwin, like Chahal, went wicketless, conceding 43 runs in four overs. The Royals’ successful bowlers included Avesh Khan (3/27), Trent Boult (3/45) and Sandeep Sharma (2/25).
“Yashasvi Jaiswal was finally seeing playing well” – Aakash Chopra on the Rajasthan Royals’ chase
Aakash Chopra reflected on the Rajasthan Royals’ chase, noting that Yashasvi Jaiswal appeared to be recovering his form before his dismissal altered the direction of the match.
“The start was extremely slow. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, it wasn’t enjoyable the way he batted. Pat Cummins got him out. Yashasvi Jaiswal was finally seeing playing well. He had scored a century in this season but after that, his form has also gone downwards. He scored 40 in the last match as well but wasn’t that convincing.”
“He played well in this match. It seemed like he would go after finishing the match. Pat (Cummins) took a chance and brought a left-arm spinner in Shahbaz Ahmed. He first hit a very good reverse sweep but was then caught out in the deep, and the game turned on its head.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra noted that Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma swept through the Rajasthan Royals’ middle order, with Dhruv Jurel’s fighting knock falling unanswered.
“Then whether it was Sanju Samson or Riyan Parag, Shahbaz was bowling from one end and Abhishek Sharma came from the other, and wickets started falling. In the end, Dhruv Jurel batted well and fought. I believe if he had played all matches at a good number and had a good season, he would have been a candidate to fly for the Indian team.”
Aakash Chopra
Jurel scored an unbroken 56 from 35 deliveries, including seven fours and two sixes. He was the only Rajasthan Royals player to score more than 10 runs, aside from Jaiswal.
