Aakash Chopra attacks Virat Kohli and hails Gautam Gambhir for this act

Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra took a subtle jibe at the innings played by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting superstar Virat Kohli in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Kohli once again emerged as the top performer for the Faf du Plessis-led side in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as he played a sensational knock of 83 runs off 59 balls, with 4 fours and 4 sixes against the Shreyas Iyer & Co.

Other than Virat Kohli, no RCB batter breached the 35-run mark in the match against KKR. Kohli remained unbeaten throughout his innings and built several important partnerships to help his team post a good total of 182/6 on the board. Even though RCB were a few runs short, the total wouldn’t have been achieved if Virat Kohli hadn’t stepped up with his 83-run knock.

All the hard work done by the former RCB captain went in vain as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batters played absolutely attacking brand of cricket in the second innings and helped their team win the match by 7 wickets. They completed the run-chase in 16.5 overs to register their second consecutive win in IPL 2024.

KKR openers Sunil Narine (47) and Phil Salt (30) came out all guns blazing and smashed the RCB bowlers all over the park while the rest of the job was done by the Iyer duo – Shreyas Iyer (39) and Venkatesh Iyer (50).

Virat Kohli played 59 balls to reach 83 and Kolkata had already scored 85 in 5.5 overs – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reviewed the RCB vs KKR match and aimed a dig at Kohli for his comparatively slow innings.

The cricketer-turned-commentator said that the KKR opening duo of Salt and Narine built together an 85-run stand in 36 balls and compared it to Kohli’s innings of 83 runs, which came in 59 balls.

“When Sunil Narine opens, the template is absolutely clear – ‘Either I or you will not remain’. He plays in that fashion, tries to hit sixes. Everyone knows that you need to repeatedly bowl bouncers and yorkers, but if you don’t get success in that, just like Bengaluru didn’t get in the first six overs, he takes the match far away from your grasp,” he said.

“Phil Salt was also there with him. Phil Salt hit 18 runs in the first over itself. He was brilliant. Just to put things in context, the opposing team 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 a lot.”

After taking a jibe at Kohli, Chopra went on to shower rich praise on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir. He said that Gambhir has instilled confidence in the KKR players Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Venkatesh Iyer which has helped to shine in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“I feel Gautam has given them a lot of confidence. Sunil Narine opening has Gautam Gambhir’s imprint. Andre Russell bowling at the death also has a little imprint of Gautam Gambhir. He is empowering them slightly and the same can be said about Venkatesh Iyer. He has been empowered to hit fours and sixes,” Chopra said.