Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has criticized Rishabh Pant for his dismissal against the Punjab Kings on Monday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. The left-hander was stumped by wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma.
Rishabh Pant walked out to bat at number five, after the fall of Lalit Yadav’s wicket. In the next over he slammed Liam Livingstone for a six over long-on. However, Liam had the last laugh, as Rishabh was dismissed on the following delivery. Pant tried to walk down premeditatedly but missed the ball, which sneaked under his bat. Jitesh Sharma did the rest behind the wickets.
In a video on Aakash Chopra’s Youtube Channel, the former cricketer spoke about Rishabh Pant’s batting position. He expressed that Pant should have come ahead of Lalit Yadav. Speaking about Rishabh’s dismissal, Aakash opined that ego came in the way, as he had just hit a six, and many overs were left in the innings. He stated,
“There are some decisions which I don’t understand. Lalit Yadav was sent up the order, why? Rishabh Pant, you come to bat. He (Yadav) played 21 balls for 24 runs. You (Pant) have to bat, you hit a six and are left dumbfounded on the next ball. Ego actually came in the way because a lot of overs were left. You wanted to hit Liam Livingstone out of the stadium.”
The Delhi Capitals got off a disastrous start losing their opener David Warner for a golden duck. He was dismissed by Liam Livingstone, on the first delivery of the match.
“David Warner was dismissed off the first ball. When you get such a start, it seemed they (PBKS) had struck a lottery. You get Livingstone to bowl and he gets out there, this is a phenomenal start to the game,” said Aakash Chopra.
Sarfaraz Khan batted very well: Aakash Chopra
Sarfaraz Khan made a comeback to the Delhi Capitals team. He opened the innings alongside David Warner. The right-hander scored a brisk 32 off 16 deliveries including five boudaries and a six. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh also played well, scoring 63 runs in the first innings.
However, the Delhi Capitals suffered a collapse and could manage 159 runs in 20 overs. Analysing their batting performance, Aakash Chopra said,
“But after that Sarfaraz, yeh Sarfaraz dhoka nahin dega. He batted very well, different types of shots, fours and sixes. Mitchell Marsh was anyway batting well but wickets started to fall after that, which was bound to happen because there was turn on the pitch.”
“Rovman Powell, he disappointed a little. It is good that Axar kept on fighting. He made 17 runs, very important runs. If these 17 were not scored, you wouldn’t have reached 159,” he added.
The Delhi Capitals won the match by 17 runs as Shardul Thakur picked four wickets to restrict Punjab Kings to 142 runs.
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