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"It seemed like Virat Kohli was trying too much" - Aakash Chopra on RCB opener's dismissal against Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2024 loss to MI

Aakash Chopra reckons Virat Kohli's overaggressive approach led to his dismissal against Jasprit Bumrah in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2024 loss to the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Kohli was dismissed for a nine-ball three as RCB set MI a 197-run target in Mumbai on Thursday, April 11. Hardik Pandya and company achieved the target with seven wickets and 27 deliveries to spare to register their second successive win after starting their campaign with three losses.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that Kohli chose the wrong bowler to attack at the start of his innings.

"When Mumbai won the toss and asked the opposing team to bat, they couldn't bat that well. Faf du Plessis was there with Virat Kohli. We were discussing before this match as well that the focus will be on Virat Kohli vs Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah had dismissed him four times before this match. Virat Kohli was his first IPL wicket," he said (1:35).
"Here it seemed like Virat Kohli was trying too much because it is in his mind that they score 180-190 but nothing happens with that. So let's try and aim higher. When you do that, it works against others, but it doesn't work out against Bumrah. He got an inside edge and Ishan Kishan took an excellent catch behind the wickets," the former India opener added.

Kohli tried to play an aggressive shot off the first ball he faced from Bumrah and survived a leg-before appeal off the next delivery. He tried to play another big shot off the third ball, only to get an inside edge to Ishan Kishan behind the wickets.


"Jasprit Bumrah has become the bowler who makes the match a 16-over affair" - Aakash Chopra

Jasprit Bumrah registered figures of 5/21 in four overs. [P/C: iplt20.com]
Jasprit Bumrah registered figures of 5/21 in four overs. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra lauded Jasprit Bumrah for consistently bowling penetrative and economical spells.

"That was the first of five wickets Bumrah took. You have a total spell of four overs and he picked up five wickets in that. Jasprit Bumrah has become the bowler who makes the match a 16-over affair. The pitch might be flat and the ground might be small but he doesn't give runs. He was absolutely stellar," he observed (2:20).

While praising the Mumbai Indians seamer for bowling immaculate yorkers, the cricketer-turned-commentator questioned the pay disparity between him and Mitchell Starc.

"He was on a hat-trick twice. He might have broken Mahipal Lomror's toe. The toe has become his favorite body part. When he sees an opponent, he locks the toe as the target, and the ball goes and hits there. Jasprit Bumrah is worth 12 crores and Mitchell Starc is worth 25 crores - what is happening? It's extremely wrong," Chopra stated.

After dismissing Virat Kohli in the third over, Bumrah got rid of Faf du Plessis and Mahipal Lomror off successive deliveries in the 17th over. He then accounted for Saurav Chauhan and Vijaykumar Vyshak's dismissals off back-to-back deliveries in the penultimate over of RCB's innings.


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