DC vs MI: "My heart cried when Rishabh Pant came to bat..." - Aakash Chopra

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra offered advice to Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant ahead of the match against Mumbai Indians (MI). Aakash Chopra urged Rishabh Pant to consider batting higher up the order in their upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match.

The Rishabh Pant-led team will take on the Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, April 27. The Delhi team is in sixth place in the table, having secured four wins out of nine matches. The Hardik Pandya-led team, on the other hand, is in ninth place with six points.

The Delhi-based team suffered a 29-run loss when they last faced the Mumbai team in the IPL 2024. Rishabh Pant batted at No. 5 while chasing a target of 235 runs in Mumbai. The left-handed batter scored just one run off three balls as the Capitals scored 205 runs in 20 overs.

Please Come Up The Batting Order- Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra picked Rishabh Pant as the key player to watch for the Delhi Capitals in the upcoming match. Chopra emphasized that Pant should take advantage of his recent form by batting higher in the lineup.

"My first player is Rishabh Pant. My heart cried when Rishabh Pant came to bat very low against this team last time. I said he should have batted as he only could have won the game. They lost by a very small margin to Mumbai," Chopra said.

"So I will request Rishabh with folded hands that he should come to bat up the order. You scored 88 in the last match and if the conditions are even slightly slower, no one will be able to play better than you. So please come up the batting order," he added.

Rishabh Pant leads the run-scoring for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024, amassing 342 runs in nine innings with an average of 48.86 and an impressive strike rate of 161.32. He currently occupies the fourth position in the Orange Cap list, behind Virat Kohli, Sunil Narine, and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Expect Him To Also Bowl Well In This Match - Aakash Chopra

The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Axar Patel as the second key player for the Delhi Capitals against the Mumbai Indians. Chopra acknowledged Patel's batting performance in the recent match. He expects Patel to bowl well in the upcoming match.

"The second player who comes to my mind is Axar Patel, who was sent up the order and he batted well too. I expect him to also bowl well in this match. He might not get to bat so high again. It doesn't matter even if he gets to do that. He played Rashid (Khan) and Noor (Ahmed) very well and the opposing team does not have very good spinners," Chopra further added.

Axar Patel, batting in the No. 3 position, scored 66 runs off 43 balls in the last match against the Gujarat Titans. The left-handed batter smashed five boundaries and four sixes. The Rishabh Pant-led team posted a total of 224 runs. The DC team managed to secure a narrow four-run victory.

Also read: T20 World Cup 2024: Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya IGNORED as Sourav Ganguly names two certain selections