"For how long will you stop Kohli?" - Aakash Chopra picks Virat Kohli among players to watch out for in RCB-PBKS IPL 2024 clash
Aakash Chopra is eager to watch a flowing knock from Virat Kohli in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2024 clash against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
The two sides will face off at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, March 25. While RCB suffered a six-wicket defeat in the tournament opener against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), PBKS beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) by four wickets to start their campaign on a winning note.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked three players each from both sides to watch out for in Monday's game. Choosing Kohli as the first player from RCB, he said (2:30):
"My focus point will be Virat Kohli. He got to play only six balls in the first six overs in the last match. Then he was playing cautiously, played a good shot as well, and then he got out. However, for how long will you stop Kohli? He is a storm you can silence for some time but cannot stop. I am eager to watch his flowing batting."
The former India opener named Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj as the other two RCB players in focus.
"Maxwell got out for zero in the last innings. Glenn Maxwell needs to do well. His record has now become very good on this ground. He needs to score runs because you cannot depend too much on Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik. So my second player in focus will be Glenn Maxwell," Chopra elaborated.
"The third player I am thinking about in this Bangalore side is Mohammed Siraj. In fast bowling, they have Yash Dayal with Mohammed Siraj, and then they get Alzarri Joseph and Cameron Green to bowl. Mohammed Siraj needs to attack with the new ball, Shikhar Dhawan will be there in front of him, if you want to control the match," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
Maxwell was caught behind for a golden duck off Deepak Chahar's bowling against CSK. Siraj went wicketless and conceded 38 runs in his four overs against the five-time champions.
"He is a quality player and I am just hoping that he comes good in this game" - Aakash Chopra on PBKS' Shikhar Dhawan
![Shikhar Dhawan scored 22 runs off 16 balls in PBKS' win against DC. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/03/3e3c5-17113481197027-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra chose the PBKS' opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow as two of their players he will keenly follow.
"I am once again seeing Shikhar Dhawan because he was batting well. He made some good runs through the off side. Of course, he got out off Ishant Sharma's bowling. He has come to a good pitch and the tournament is good if the captain does well at the start. He is a quality player and I am just hoping that he comes good in this game," he reasoned (5:45).
"After that, I am seeing his partner Jonny Bairstow. I want to see him hit a lot. He didn't do anything special in the India-England series and got run out at the non-striker's end in the last match. It wasn't his fault. This team's weakness could be their finishing. So a solid opening partnership is what I am hoping for to avoid that concern," the former KKR player added.
Chopra named Harshal Patel as the third PBKS player to watch out for in Monday's game.
"Third is Harshal Patel, who is coming back home. He picked up two wickets in the last match, dismissed David Warner and Rishabh Pant, but conceded 25 runs in the final over in front of Abhishek Porel. So how Harshal Patel does against his old franchise will be worth watching because he is bowling the difficult overs," he stated.
Harshal registered figures of 2/47 in four overs in PBKS' win against the Capitals. He will hope to give a better account of himself against his former franchise, who neither retained him nor bid for him at the auction.