Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill should have been given the Player of the Match Award instead of the comeback man Mohit Sharma against PBKS. The young Indian opener played exceptionally well for the defending champions to help them register their third win in the league stage.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra was full of praise for the Indian youngster Gill for taking the team to victory when most of the batters struggled to get going, especially in the run chase.
“Gujarat won, the match went till the end for sure, but they won. Shouldn’t Gill have been the Man of the Match? My Player of the Match would have been Shubman Gill,” Aakash Chopra speaking on his YouTube channel, said.
Chopra felt that the pitch was not an easy one to bat on, as both teams could not score at full flow in the match. The bowlers had the upper hand in the contest–and having said that Shubman Gill was the only player to score a half-century in the match.
“The one guy who scored a half-century should have got Player of the Match. How well the guy plays – the elegance and the beautiful fashion in which he plays. He got out at the wrong time, got out while playing a wrong shot that was the only bad shot he played.”
Gujarat Titans scored 56 runs in the power play, as the run rate significantly dipped in the middle overs for the defending champions. The middle order struggled to get going as Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya and David Miller had a moderate outing with the bat.
They Were Going At A Snail Pace – Aakash Chopra On Punjab Kings Batting
Aakash Chopra praised Gujarat Titans bowlers; Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph for their bowling against Punjab Kings. He also lauded Mohit Sharma for his comeback in IPL.
“If we talk about the bowling, Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph were brilliant. Mohit Sharma made a comeback and he was given the Player of the Match. There is a question there.”
The 45-year-old questioned the decision to select Mohit Sharma as the player of the match, stating that he bowled only one over in the death to pick the wicket of Sam Curran. Besides, he stated that he predominantly bowled in the middle overs as Punjab Kings’ batters struggled to get going against any other bowlers.
“If you see from his viewpoint, it is right, 18 runs in four overs and picked up two wickets. But the truth is also that you didn’t bowl in the powerplay and bowled just one over at the death. So if we see from that angle, no one was moving in the middle overs, they were going at a snail’s pace.”
The defending champions Gujarat Titans will take on Rajasthan Royals in their 5th league match at the home ground–Narendra Modi Stadium on April 16.