IPL 2021: "When Mayank Agarwal got out, KL Rahul should have accelerated" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra feels KL Rahul should have taken the attack to the Delhi Capitals [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra has said that KL Rahul should have taken over the aggressor's role after Mayank Agarwal got out in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) IPL 2021 game against the Delhi Capitals.

Agarwal was dismissed in the 13th over of the PBKS innings after playing a blazing 69-run knock off just 36 deliveries. But KL Rahul could not push the accelerator and was dismissed three overs later after adding only 19 runs with Chris Gayle.

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While reviewing PBKS' defeat against the Delhi Capitals, Aakash Chopra observed in a video shared on his YouTube channel that KL Rahul failed to replicate the free-flowing knock he had played against the Rajasthan Royals.

"When Mayank Agarwal got out, KL Rahul was required to accelerate a little, something he did in the first natch. He had missed out on a century, but the acceleration was there. Here also the expectation was that he would hit. He did not do that, and when he looks back, he will regret a little because the finish was not strong," said Chopra.

The reputed commentator said that KL Rahul's failure to accelerate and Chris Gayle failing to get going meant PBKS were short by a few runs.

"Gayle was also dismissed after that. You wanted to score 60-70 runs in the last five overs. You didn't score those many, and because of that you didn't reach around 220, where you should have probably reached," added Aakash Chopra.

KL Rahul's 61 runs came off 51 deliveries. Although he did score 36 runs off the final 23 balls he faced, he struggled to accelerate after taking 28 deliveries for his first 25 runs.

Great chase for @DelhiCapitals Great all round performance. Well played @SDhawan25. Kl Rahul slow knock costed the game and he needs to improve strike rate soon.#DCvPBKS #IPL2021
— Vallavan 🔥🔥 (@Vallava90659735) April 18, 2021

Aakash Chopra on Punjab Kings' bowling issues

Aakash Chopra feels Punjab Kings have failed to address their bowling issue.s [P/C: iplt20.com]

While questioning the decision to bring Riley Meredith into the attack as late as the 11th over, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the Punjab Kings' three prominent pacers were taken to the cleaners by the Delhi Capitals.

"You bring Riley Meredith after the 10th over, why did you do like that? You spent such a huge amount on Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith. but they are leaking so many runs. And there were 53 runs in Shami's account as well," said Chopra.

#PBKS broke their bank to get Jhy Richardson and Meredith....the idea was to lean on them in these high-scoring games. Unfortunately, they are yet to make their presence felt. Might as well play Henriques for Meredith and attempt crossing 210 every time. #IPL2021
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 18, 2021

The 43-year-old concluded by saying that Punjab Kings' bowling is still a concern and that they need to post massive scores to compensate for that.

"So if you see from that angle, the Punjab Kings' bowling was a problem earlier; it is a problem today as well. Almost 222 runs were chased that day, and today 195 was chased very easily. So bowling is a problem for Punjab, unless of course, if they start scoring 240 every time they play, which is not an easy thing to do," concluded Aakash Chopra.

Mohammed Shami, Jhye Richardson, and Riley Meredith conceded 129 runs in a little more than ten overs they bowled. The Punjab Kings might have to consider bringing Chris Jordan into the attack, as Riley Meredith is proving to be ineffective.