"It is slightly a game of ego" - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer's dismissal during KKR's run chase against MI

Aakash Chopra has highlighted that the Mumbai Indians (MI) bowlers played with Shreyas Iyer's ego to dismiss the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper in last night's IPL 2022 encounter.

Iyer pulled Daniel Sams straight down Tilak Varma's throat at deep square leg after having scored just 10 runs. The Mumbaikar is yet to play a substantial knock in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League.

While reflecting on KKR's run chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said the following about Shreyas Iyer's dismissal:

"Both Kolkata openers were struggling. Rahane was out and Shreyas came in. He hits two fours and he was also out. Shreyas Iyer has not scored runs till now, I mean he has just been throwing away his wicket. It is slightly a game of ego, that I will hit you for a six."

The former KKR player pointed out that Iyer fell into the trap laid out by the Mumbai Indians. Chopra explained:

"I will hit a six against spin, if you bowl short, I will hit a six. You had already hit two fours and you had got one life already. It was a game, set and match to play with Shreyas Iyer's ego by keeping a fielder in the deep and bowling bouncers."

Iyer, who came into IPL 2022 in great form, has managed just 69 runs in his four innings for KKR thus far. He has generally looked comfortable in the middle before playing a big shot to get dismissed.

To see list of IPL winner, click here.

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"Sam Billings actually batted well" - Aakash Chopra on the other KKR batters

Sam Billings scored 17 runs off 12 balls [P/C: iplt20.com]

While praising Sam Billings for playing a cameo, Aakash Chopra appreciated Venkatesh Iyer for taking a leaf out of MS Dhoni's book. He elaborated:

"Sam Billings actually batted well. Venkatesh Iyer was struggling but by doing that he made us understand one thing, that however ugly you might look, you shouldn't get out, if you stand there till the end, things might change. Dhoni has taught us this every time and Venkatesh Iyer demonstrated it here."

The renowned commentator was extremely critical of Nitish Rana's shot selection. Chopra observed:

"When Sam Billings gets out, Nitish Rana comes to bat - bad shot. What are you doing? He hit one six. After that, a long hop, he was caught 30 meters from the boundary, he tried to hit a six to the longest side and got out. This is a huge problem, if you don't want to take the match till the end, things will change."

Aakash Chopra concluded by stating that that KKR seemed to be down and out after Andre Russell's dismissal. He reasoned:

"Russell came and Bumrah was called, classic head to head. Russell hits a four and a six. He tried to hit another six and the ball went straight up in the air off Tymal Mills' bowling. I thought you (KKR) will not win from here because Venkatesh Iyer had still not got that much flow. Only Sunil Narine and the bowlers were left after Pat Cummins."

Pat Cummins' breathtaking assault took KKR to an unlikely victory just when they seemed destined for a loss. The Australian Test skipper smoked an unbeaten 56 off just 15 balls to achieve the 162-run target with four overs to spare.