IPL 2021: RCB's Investment In Daniel Christian Was Just Futile, Says Aakash Chopra

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s quest for the elusive IPL title continues as they were knocked out by Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator match on Monday in Sharjah.

After opting to bat first, RCB posted a meagre total of 138/7 as West Indies spinner Sunil Narine wreaked havoc with the ball as he picked the crucial wickets of skipper Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell to end with the figures of 4/21.

Daniel Christian gave more runs in one over than he scored in the entire tournament: Aakash Chopra

Narine’s impact was not only restricted with his bowling, but he also made sure to count his batting performance, too, as he clobbered three continuous sixes against Daniel Christian’s bowling in the 12th over. Narine’s carnage brought down the required run rate to less than seven runs per over.

Christian’s selection in the RCB team was the talking point as the Australian all-rounder just managed to score 14 runs from nine games in IPL 2021, and Chopra called his selection as futile.

“The team will be left slightly behind if you try to find lucky people. Your investment in Dan Christian, that was just futile in the end. He has scored very few runs, you can talk about the entire tournament and when he came to bowl, he gave more runs in one over than he scored in the entire tournament,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 

“Dan Christian’s inclusion in this team just defied a bit of logic. You were expecting a lot from him and I agree with Virender Sehwag’s tweet that when you pick players for luck, end of the day it backfires slightly. This game actually proved that,” he added. 

The game changed in Daniel Christian’s over itself: Aakash Chopra

Some brilliant bowling by Harshal Patel (2/19) and Mohammed Siraj (2/19) pushed the game to the final over.

Christian had seven runs to defend in that decisive, over which he failed to do so as Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan scooped the ball for a four, and KKR won by four wickets.

Chopra pointed that Sunil Narine’s explosion with the bat changed the course of the game and chastised Christian for concerning too many runs in a low-score defending game.

“The game changed when wickets had fallen and Sunil Narine came to bat. He had made runs on this ground and this pitch against fast bowling. He had done it against Rabada but captain Kohli brings Dan Christian. I thought that over was not required,” Chopra said. 

“22 runs are scored in that over, three sixes and that’s it, the game changed. 22 runs are actually conceded in an entire spell when you are defending 139. Siraj gave 19 runs in his four overs, Harshal gave 19 in four overs, Yuzi Chahal gave 16 runs in four overs,” he added. 

KKR will meet Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday (October 13).

Also Read: IPL 2021: Daniel Christian’s Wife Abused On Instagram After RCB’s Loss To KKR In The Eliminator