"God only knows how he is playing" - Aakash Chopra lauds injured Faf du Plessis' match-winning knock in RCB's IPL 2023 clash vs PBKS
Aakash Chopra has lauded Faf du Plessis for overcoming his injury and playing a match-winning knock for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Du Plessis smashed 84 runs off 56 balls as RCB set a 175-run target for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2023 clash in Mohali on Thursday, April 20. Their bowlers then bundled out the home team for 150 to register a 24-run win and move into fifth spot in the IPL 2023 points table.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that the 'Impact Player' rule helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Faf du Plessis' cause, elaborating:
"Faf du Plessis played as an Impact Player. He has a muscle tear in his ribs but the guy is still playing. God only knows how he is playing. Rohit Sharma played that day due to the 'Impact Player' rule and here Faf played, which is actually a great blessing that they are at least getting a chance to play."
While praising Du Plessis and stand-in skipper Virat Kohli for stitching together a century partnership, the former Indian opener highlighted that the visiting team fell short of the score they should have achieved, observing:
"When he came to bat, I felt he would not hit that much but he hit a lot. Both (Du Plessis and Virat Kohli) batted very well and had a partnership of 137. It seemed they would score 195-200 but they weren't scored. You could reach 175 only. So I felt they slowed down slightly in the end."
Chopra reckons Kohli had to play conservatively due to RCB's lack of batting depth, saying:
"If you see Virat Kohli and Faf's innings, Faf hit five sixes and ran at a better strike rate. Virat Kohli was a little bit on the slower side but these are roles both of them are playing, especially when they don't have depth in batting."
Kohli contributed 59 runs off 47 balls in the 137-run opening-wicket partnership with Du Plessis. RCB managed only 37 runs in the last four overs despite having all 10 wickets in hand, with none of their other batters reaching the double-digit mark.
"Mohammed Siraj ka raj" - Aakash Chopra lauds RCB seamer's spell
![Mohammed Siraj returned figures of 4/21 in his four overs. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/04/c20ec-16820510569198-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra concluded by praising Mohammed Siraj for bowling a penetrative spell during the Punjab Kings' chase, stating:
"Mohammed Siraj ka raj. Miyan magic - outstanding. Atharva Taide got out at the start and after that Liam Livingstone. They took an amazing review. Jitesh Sharma fought till the end but Miyan magic came again. He had four wickets in his kitty. Siraj is absolutely stellar this season."
Siraj was awarded the Player of the Match for his four-wicket haul. Wanindu Hasaranga (2/39), Harshal Patel (1/22) and Wayne Parnell (1/32) were the other wicket-takers for RCB.