IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra heaps praise on RCB's batting performance against RR

Aakash Chopra believes the Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) batting was like a 'tsunami' that blew away the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their IPL 2021 encounter on Thursday.

The RCB openers, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli, took all the Rajasthan Royals bowlers to the cleaners as they chased down the 178-run target with all 10 wickets in hand and 21 deliveries to spare.

While reviewing the RCB-RR encounter in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the left and right-hand combination made mincemeat of the opposition attack on their way to a resounding win.

"It was just a carnage when RCB batted. It was like a Tsunami that blew them away, there were fours and sixes absolutely on demand. All the bowlers were actually on remand. It was an incredible batting effort," said Chopra.

While Devdutt Padikkal registered his maiden IPL century (101* off just 52 balls), Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 72 off 47 deliveries.

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Aakash Chopra's views about the RCB opening pair

The RCB openers did not give RR any chance to stage a comeback in the game [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra lauded Padikkal for bouncing back brilliantly after initially being laid low by COVID-19 and then not being amongst the runs in the Chennai leg.

"Padikkal was Covid positive earlier. He was in isolation, came back and didn't score the runs, the Chennai pitch is never very kind to the batsmen. But here he looked like a man on a mission, as though he was released from jail and will not stop and keep on hitting," added Chopra.

While the elegant southpaw reminded him of Yuvraj Singh, the cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the 20-year-old overshadowed the RCB skipper with his performance.

"He was elegance personified. The straight six he hit off Fizz, you can keep watching that by putting it in a loop. There was some lazy elegance about him and reminded a little bit about Yuvraj Singh. He made it seem like Virat Kohli was standing in his shadow," said Chopra.

Man of the Match : RCB vs RR - @devdpd07Devdutt talks about coming back from COVID, his match-winning century, and much more as he receives a deserved Man of the match award.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 #RCBvKKR #DareToDream pic.twitter.com/ExGM0Ctg6S

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 23, 2021

Aakash Chopra also showered praise on Virat Kohli for playing the supporting act to perfection and leading the RCB to a 10-wicket win.

"Kohli also needs to be appreciated. He realised his role was different although he also hit towards the end. He batted very well, started with a six off Shreyas Gopal and hit fours and sixes after that and remained unbeaten till the end. That's what Kohli is, just the chase master," signed off Chopra.

The RCB's annihilation of RR was their fourth consecutive win in IPL 2021. They are also the only unbeaten team in the tournament, as they sit pretty on top of the standings, with eight points in their kitty.

And that's what we call a PERFECT 1️⃣0️⃣ performance 🤩4️⃣ out of 4️⃣! 💯 #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 #RCBvRR #DareToDream pic.twitter.com/bZpnEVn6e8

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 22, 2021