"4th consecutive innings in which he hasn't scored runs" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma's failure in Mumbai Indians' IPL 2024 loss to KKR
Aakash Chopra has noted that Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Rohit Sharma's recent lean run continued in his side's IPL 2024 loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
KKR set MI a 170-run target in Mumbai on Friday, May 3. Rohit was then dismissed for a 12-ball 11 as the Mumbai Indians were bundled out for 145 and lost the game by 24 runs, a result that ended their playoff qualification hopes.
Reflecting on the Mumbai Indians' chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir's early dismissals followed by Rohit's fourth consecutive failure put them behind the eight ball.
"They played cautiously against Vaibhav Arora in the first over but Mitchell Starc came after that. The first ball was very good and then Ishan Kishan hit a fantastic shot over cover followed by a flicked six. After that, Mitchell Starc blew away his stumps and bails," he said (5:15).
"Then Shreyas Iyer brought Varun Chakaravarthy within the powerplay and Naman Dhir was dismissed. He is a good player but a bad shot at that point in time. Sunil Narine dismissed the Indian captain Rohit Sharma. Fourth consecutive innings in which he hasn't scored runs," the former India opener added.
Rohit has aggregated a paltry 29 runs in his last four innings. Apart from a century against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Indian skipper hasn't scored a fifty in IPL 2024.
"You got yourself at No. 7 and Tim David at No. 8 - why?" - Aakash Chopra questions Hardik Pandya's batting position for the Mumbai Indians
![Hardik Pandya scored a solitary run off three deliveries. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/05/19efa-17148070245239-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra questioned Hardik Pandya and Tim David's positions in the Mumbai Indians batting order.
"There were expectations from Tilak Varma to score runs but he also fell prey to Varun Chakaravarthy. Nehal Wadhera was sent up the order and I said Hardik should have come. You got yourself at No. 7 and Tim David at No. 8 - why? Left-right combination is fine but will you not come to bat if it doesn't become left-right?" he said (6:35).
On the flip side, the renowned commentator praised Suryakumar Yadav for playing his customary unconventional shots and keeping the Mumbai Indians in the game.
"I was a little disappointed. I felt he should have come to bat up the order and stitched a big partnership with Surya because Surya was playing well. He played some Surya Namaskar shots watching which you say - how well he is batting. He played very well till the time he was there," Chopra observed.
While noting that Pandya's batting form is a concern, Chopra appreciated Mitchell Starc for sealing the game by dismissing Tim David before claiming the final two wickets.
"You have to admit that Hardik Pandya's batting is not going well. He has still started to bowl better but there are only a handful of innings in this entire tournament where he has batted well. He also got out. Tim David kept the team alive for some time but then came Mitchell Starc," he stated.
Starc registered figures of 4/33 in 3.5 overs. He was ably assisted by Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Andre Russell, who accounted for two dismissals apiece.