"How will you win if two of your six batters get run out?" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' unsuccessful chase against Punjab Kings

Aakash Chopra has highlighted that two of their batters getting run out compromised the Mumbai Indians' (MI) run chase in last night's IPL 2022 clash against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

A well-set Tilak Varma was run out at the non-striker's end after a mix-up with Suryakumar Yadav. Kieron Pollard also met the same fate when he and Yadav tried to steal a second run when Odean Smith misfielded the ball at long-on.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reflected on the Mumbai Indians' run chase. He had the following to say about Pollard's indifferent form and his dismissal in yesterday's encounter:

"Kieron Pollard has not come this year. He batted slightly okay in one match against KKR, here he was not batting well. He is struggling, run out. You might say it was Surya's fault but you cannot walk the first run. Both he and Tilak Varma got run out, how will you win if two of your six batters get run out?"

The former Kolkata Knight Riders player was also critical of the Mumbai Indians' batting order. Chopra explained:

"You send Dewald Brevis and along with him is Tilak Varma. I have got a question, that too when things have gone well, will you not send your team's best batter to bat? Sending Suryakumar Yadav at No. 5, it is a faux pas in my opinion. He got 30 balls in the end. If you had given him 45 balls, the match wouldn't have reached here."

Dewald Brevis (49 off 25) and Tilak Varma (36 off 20) stitched together an 84-run partnership for the third wicket after the Mumbai Indians were reduced to a score of 32/2.

It is debatable if the five-time champions would have won the encounter if Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 43 runs off 30 balls, had batted at No. 3.

To see the updated IPL standings, click here.

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"Rohit Sharma came and batted amazingly well" - Aakash Chopra on the start of the Mumbai Indians' run chase

Rohit Sharma took the attack to the Punjab Kings bowlers [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about the start of the MI innings, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Rohit Sharma lost his wicket after giving his side a blazing start. He elaborated:

"When the second innings started, Rohit Sharma came and batted amazingly well. He hits sixes and then he falls prey to Rabada, he was dismissed only once before by Rabada. Here he tried to play a pull and the ball went straight up in the air."

While highlighting Ishan Kishan's diminishing returns after an excellent start to IPL 2022, the renowned commentator added that the Mumbai Indians skipper has not played a substantial knock for the franchise for a considerable while.

Chopra stated:

"Ishan Kishan got out in the next over. Ishan Kishan's graph has gone down drastically after his first two innings. Rohit Sharma's graph has not gone up at all. He did score 40-odd in the first match but I don't remember the last time he scored a fifty for Mumbai. There were a lot of expectations here but the runs were not scored."

Aakash Chopra also pointed out that the Mumbai Indians do not have the requisite balance in their playing XI.

He reasoned that Rohit Sharma's side lacks depth in both the batting and bowling departments and are not showing enough faith in their overseas recruits.

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