"It's a slightly controversial pick" - Aakash Chopra chooses his MVP for KKR's IPL 2023 win vs RCB

Aakash Chopra has picked Nitish Rana as his most valuable player (MVP) in the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) IPL 2023 win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Rana smashed 48 runs off just 21 balls to help his side set a 201-run target for RCB in Bengaluru on Wednesday, April 26. The visitors then restricted Virat Kohli and Co. to 179/8 to register a 21-run win and climb into seventh position in the IPL 2023 points table.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Nitish Rana as the MVP, saying:

"Who was my most valuable player? It's a slightly controversial pick but listen to my logic attentively. I am saying it was Nitish Rana. Jason Roy scored a half-century, Varun Chakaravarthy picked up three wickets, Russell did the job, Suyash Sharma was outstanding and Nitish didn't even score a fifty."

The former Indian opener praised the KKR skipper for his honest interviews, observing:

"The thing I liked was not his interview although I like his interviews a lot. I feel they are very endearing interviews, he talks with a lot of honesty and innocence. He said here that they wanted to bat first after winning the toss."

Chopra pointed out that KKR came into the game with a well-defined plan, explaining:

"Nine out of 10 times, what captains say at the toss - they don't really mean it, especially when they lose the toss. But this was very honest that they wanted to bat first because they had three spinners and could choke them in the second innings as they did last time."

The KKR spinners accounted for nine dismissals in their 81-run win at home in the reverse fixture between the two sides. They once again played a game-defining role in Bengaluru, with Suyash Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy's early strikes putting them on course for a win.

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"Nitish Rana gained from that" - Aakash Chopra on KKR skipper making the most of the lives given to him

Nitish Rana struck three fours and four sixes during his 48-run knock. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Nitish Rana made RCB pay for their largesse in the field, elaborating:

"He, of course, scored 48 runs while batting, which were slightly chancy. Two very easy catches were dropped - one by Mohammed Siraj and the other by Harshal Patel. Nitish Rana gained from that."

The former KKR player was effusive in his praise for Rana's captaincy, observing:

"After that, his captaincy won your heart because he got so much spin in the first six overs and then used spin repeatedly. They played David Wiese but he didn't feel David Wiese would be able to do that, so he got Andre Russell."

Chopra concluded by pointing out that the KKR skipper deserves to be the MVP for his excellent batting and leadership skills, stating:

"Sunil Narine is going wicketless but he got the job done from him. Never looked fazed at all. I like Nitish Rana the captain, Nitish Rana the batter, captained very well and scored 48 runs. So for me, the most valuable player is Nitish Rana."

While Suyash and Chakaravarthy accounted for five dismissals between them, Sunil Narine went wicketless and conceded 41 runs in his four overs. Andre Russell, who managed just a solitary run with the bat, picked up two crucial wickets, including the prized scalp of Virat Kohli.