Aakash Chopra Reacts to Rajasthan Royals’ Loss Against Gujarat Titans

Once a table topper and the strongest contender to qualify for the playoffs, Rajasthan Royals have lost their winning momentum. After 10 matches, the team has 5 victories and 5 defeats, and with every defeat, their net run-rate is getting affected. The Royals had their worst batting performance last night versus Gujarat. The defending champions were able to restrict the opposition to just 118 runs and chased it down within 14 overs.

7 out of 11 batters in the Rajasthan Royals batting line-up were out in single digit and only one batter reached 30 runs. After the end of the game, Aakash Chopra analyzed the performance of the team and acknowledged that it was difficult for him to understand what the team was doing. Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler has been out of touch this year, making the team over-dependent on Yashasvi Jaiswal to score runs. Sanju Samson has been struggling to get some runs and Riyan Parag is yet to play to his full potential.

Couldn’t understand what Rajasthan Royals did: Aakash Chopra 

Calling the game between the two teams “boring” Aakash Chopra said, “It was an extremely boring type of match. Couldn’t understand what Rajasthan did. Rajasthan have been demolished. They opted to bat after winning the toss but did they bat? Rajasthan managed only 118 runs. The batting was extremely ordinary. Sanju (Samson) made a few runs but the match was going absolutely one-sided. When they came to bowl, they didn’t pick up a single wicket in the first six overs. Spin destroyed you but you didn’t bowl a single over of spin in the first six overs. You got Ravichandran Ashwin in the 12th or 13th over. What do you do? This match was totally beyond my understanding.”

In addition to speaking about Rajasthan Royals, he praised Gujarat’s spinners, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. The spin duo dismissed 5 Rajasthan Royals batters. With just 4 matches left for both teams in the competition, Gujarat Titans have nearly fixed their qualifying scenario. The Royals will next play against Hyderabad tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, the afternoon game will be between the current table toppers Gujarat Titans and Lucknow SuperGiants.