"Delhi had a lot of problems" - Aakash Chopra says the Delhi Capitals storm totally blew away the Punjab Kings
Aakash Chopra has lauded the Delhi Capitals (DC) for overcoming their difficulties to trounce the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in last night's IPL 2022 encounter.
The Delhi Capitals were hit hard by COVID-positive cases in their camp. There were uncertainties about the match taking place but Rishabh Pant's side kept their problems at bay to register a convincing nine-wicket win.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was full of praise for the Delhi Capitals. He explained:
"Delhi had a lot of problems because it seemed they may not play the match. But they came like a storm and totally blew away Punjab. They bowled out Punjab for 115 in 120 balls, lost just one wicket and the match was in their grasp. Not only two points, the net run rate has also gone up fast."
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player highlighted that the Delhi Capitals used their spinners brilliantly to bamboozle the Punjab Kings batters. Chopra observed:
"They (Delhi) came out with the spin to win mantra - Lalit Yadav, Axar and Kuldeep's bowling. They strangulated the opposition with spin. They brought out the weakness of Punjab that they don't play spin well."
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Lalit Yadav scalped six wickets and conceded just 45 runs in the 10 overs they bowled. Patel, in particular, was at his parsimonious best, conceding just 10 runs in his four-over spell apart from picking up a couple of wickets.
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"Rishabh Pant's captaincy is growing leaps and bounds" - Aakash Chopra on the Delhi Capitals skipper's bowling changes
Aakash Chopra was also effusive in his praise for Rishabh Pant's ever-improving leadership skills. He elaborated:
"Rishabh Pant's captaincy is growing leaps and bounds, the right changes at the right moment, in fact, he got Shardul Thakur to bowl just two overs. He got Lalit Yadav to bowl the 18th over and he got a wicket there as well. Whenever he was getting a bowler, he was taking wickets."
The renowned commentator concluded by highlighting that David Warner and Prithvi Shaw's blitzkriegs made a mockery of the 116-run target. Chopra said:
"If we talk about the batting - David Warner and Prithvi Shaw - they are explosive. Prithvi sent a lot of balls on the tour of the sky. David Warner has become a beast, has played three consecutive good knocks, he is not taking the name of stopping."
Warner (60* off 30) and Shaw (41 off 20) took all the Punjab Kings bowlers to the cleaners. Their blazing knocks helped the Delhi Capitals win the match with 57 deliveries to spare.