"How did they lose?" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' IPL 2024 loss vs Gujarat Titans
Aakash Chopra has noted that the Mumbai Indians (MI) snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in their IPL 2024 clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT).
The Titans set MI a 169-run target after being asked to bat first in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24. The home team then restricted the five-time champions to 162/9 to register a thrilling six-run win.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned the Mumbai Indians for losing the game from an advantageous position.
"Tell me, how did they lose? They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. You can say that about Mumbai and you can say about Gujarat that they know how to win from a losing position because they had no business of winning this game. Mumbai were running away, then how did you lose?" he said (0:01).
The former India opener pointed out that the Gujarat Titans were fighting adversity and expressed surprise at Shubman Gill's decision to give the final over to Umesh Yadav.
"Gujarat did not have Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami. They also lost the toss and so much dew came later that a kid could swim, but despite that, Mumbai lost the match. I was slightly surprised that Umesh Yadav came to bowl the last over. Azmatullah Omarzai could have come but he didn't," Chopra explained.
While observing that Hardik Pandya almost won his side the game in the final over, Chopra questioned the Mumbai Indians skipper's batting position.
"Umesh Yadav - first ball went for a six and a four off the next ball. Hardik Pandya - absolutely rockstar, but why did you not come to bat earlier? Hardik Pandya, the leader, has to come up the batting order. I didn't understand why he came so low in the batting order," he elaborated.
Chopra also questioned Tilak Varma's decision to turn down a single and refraining from giving the strike to Tim David against Rashid Khan.
"Bumrah is one of my three standout players" - Aakash Chopra lauds Mumbai Indians seamer's spell
![Jasprit Bumrah registered figures of 3/14 in four overs. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/03/22f51-17113442334775-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra picked Jasprit Bumrah as the standout performer for the Mumbai Indians during the Gujarat Titans' innings.
"Bumrah is one of my three standout players. He dismissed Wriddhiman Saha - what a perfect yorker. Then he dismissed David Miller with a slower one. Then Sai Sudharsan played a very good shot but was caught in the deep. It was a 'Player of the Match' performance although his team didn't win the game," he stated (9:55).
The cricketer-turned-commentator praised Sai Sudharsan (45 off 39) for playing a mature knock for the Gujarat Titans.
"My second performer was Sai Sudharsan, who eventually became the Player of the Match. He needs to be praised. This boy played well when his team stumbled a little. He started slowly but his wagon gathered pace after that. He is repeatedly playing with maturity and showing that he is one for the long haul, so you should stick with him," Chopra elaborated.
Chopra chose Mohit Sharma as the third star performer of the game.
"My third performer of the day is Mohit Sharma. The game changed when Rohit Sharma got out to Sai Kishore. After that, when Dewald Brevis got out off Mohit's bowling, I think that was the game-changing moment. Mohit brought a twist in the match, a match that was totally going in Mumbai's favor," he reasoned.
Mohit returned figures of 2/32 in four overs. The right-arm seamer was introduced into the attack when the Mumbai Indians were comfortably placed at 97/2 after 11 overs. He bowled four overs on the trot and picked up the crucial wickets of Dewald Brevis and Tim David during his game-defining effort.