"Rohit Sharma's wicket was outstanding" - Aakash Chopra lauds Reece Topley's spell in 2nd India vs England ODI
Aakash Chopra has lauded Reece Topley for bowling a match-winning spell in the second ODI between Team India and England, which was played at Lord's on Thursday, July 14.
Topley registered exceptional figures of 6/24 to rock the Indian batting lineup. His spell helped the hosts bowl out the visitors for just 146 to register an emphatic 100-run win and draw parity in the three-match ODI series.
Chopra picked Topley as his Player of the Match in a video shared on his YouTube channel. He was particularly appreciative of his dismissal of Rohit Sharma, saying:
"Reece Topley undid all the good work done by Yuzi Chahal. The Player of the Match has to be Reece Topley, without a doubt, he picked up six wickets. Rohit Sharma's wicket that he took was outstanding. You can say that Shikhar Dhawan was unfortunate but he went too far across."
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the bowlers deserve all the accolades if they defend a slightly below-par score. Chopra elaborated:
"He dismissed Suryakumar Yadav with extra bounce and Jos Buttler did a praiseworthy job there that he got him to bowl. Then he cleaned up the tail as well, he was absolutely brilliant. When you are able to defend in a low-scoring encounter, then the bowlers deserve praise."
Topley gave England the ascendancy during India's run chase with the early dismissals of Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan. He later got rid of Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal and Prasidh Krishna to complete his six-wicket haul.
"So far it's been a bowlers' series" - Aakash Chopra on Reece Topley replicating Jasprit Bumrah's 6-wicket haul
Chopra pointed out that Topley almost did an encore of Jasprit Bumrah's bowling performance from the first ODI. He observed:
"Bumrah had picked up six wickets in the first match. So far it's been a bowlers' series, although there was slightly more movement in the last match and there Bumrah's class was also different, but he was bowling first there."
The 44-year-old, however, added that the England left-arm deserves even more plaudits. Chopra explained:
"If we talk about here, Topley's performance, you are protecting 246 runs, bowling second, which means the pitch has already been used and has been under the sun. That much movement was not there, there was slight movement for sure but not that much."
Scorecard: bit.ly/ENGvIND-Second…
Reece Topley's stunning spell keeps England alive in the ODI series against India 👊
#ENGvIND | 📝 Scorecard: bit.ly/ENGvIND-Second… https://t.co/wPZBs7mGTd
Topley's 6/24 are the best figures by an England bowler in ODI cricket. The 28-year-old put to shade the previous best of 6/31 registered by Paul Collingwood against Bangladesh in 2005.