RCB lost to KKR in their IPL 2024 match© BCCI/Sportzpics
Former Indian cricket team batsman Aakash Chopra made a cheeky joke at Royal Challengers Bangalore with an interesting anecdote about Virat Kohli’s defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL 2024 match on Friday. Kohli scored his second consecutive half-century in the league but it was not enough as the RCB bowling attack faltered under pressure against the explosive batting of Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer. Chopra pointed out that while Kohli needed 59 deliveries to score 83, KKR got off to a stunning start in the powerplay and ended up scoring 83 runs in 5.5 overs.
“When Sunil Narine opens, the template is perfectly clear: ‘I or you won’t stay’. He plays that way and tries to hit sixes. Everyone knows you have to bowl bouncers and yorkers repeatedly, but if you don’t” If he doesn’t succeed in that, just like Bengaluru didn’t make it in the first six overs, he takes the match way out of your reach,” he said during his analysis on YouTube.
“Phil Salt was there too. Phil Salt hit 18 runs in the first over himself. He was brilliant. To put things in context, the opposition bowled well but Kohli played 59 balls to reach 83 and Kolkata had already Scored 85. in 5.5 overs. Whether it was Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj or Yash Dayal, everyone was hit badly,” the former Indian cricketer added.
Chopra was also full of praise for KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir, whom he credited for moves such as sending Narine to open the batting and using Andre Russell as a death-over bowler.
“I feel Gautam has given them a lot of confidence. Sunil Narine’s opening has the imprint of Gautam Gambhir. Andre Russell, who bowls at the death, also has a little imprint of Gautam Gambhir. He gives them a bit of power and the same can be said about Venkatesh Iyer. He has been given the power to hit fours and sixes,” Chopra explains.
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