IPL 2022: "What captaincy you do, I don't understand" - Aakash Chopra on Kagiso Rabada not bowling his 4th over for Punjab Kings vs DC

Aakash Chopra has questioned the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) skipper Mayank Agarwal's decision to not let Kagiso Rabada bowl his full quota of four overs against the Delhi Capitals (DC).

Rabada returned figures of 1/24 in his three overs in Monday's (May 16) IPL 2022 clash as the Capitals set a competitive 160-run target for PBKS. The DC bowlers then restricted the Kings to 142/9, thereby winning the match by 17 runs.

Reflecting on the Punjab Kings' bowling effort in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra questioned Agarwal's handling of Rabada. He elaborated:

"Kagiso Rabada was expensive at the start but later he didn't bowl his fourth over. What captaincy you do, I don't understand. The pitch was turning a little, agree Liam Livingstone bowled his overs but not good enough."

However, the former India batter was all praise for Liam Livingstone and Arshdeep Singh's bowling efforts for the Punjab Kings. Chopra observed:

"Liam Livingstone picked up three wickets, Rahul Chahar gave 19 runs in his four overs but there was no wicket in his account. Arshdeep picked up three wickets, Arshdeep was brilliant. He dismissed Sarfaraz [Khan] at the start and later he came back to dismiss Lalit Yadav and [Shardul] Thakur."

Livingstone registered figures of 3/27 in his four-over spell, picking up the prized wickets of David Warner, Rishabh Pant and Rovman Powell. Meanwhile, Arshdeep finished with figures of 3/37, Sarfaraz Khan, Lalit Yadav and Shardul Thakur being his victims.

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"Bairstow just found a fielder off Nortje's short ball" - Aakash Chopra on Punjab Kings' chase

Jonny Bairstow was caught by Axar Patel off Anrich Nortje's bowling [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about the Punjab Kings' chase, Aakash Chopra highlighted that their acclaimed top-order batters failed to deliver. He explained:

"Jonny Bairstow was hitting a lot against pace, he was batting very well. Shikhar Dhawan was there along with him. Bairstow just found a fielder off Nortje's short ball."

Chopra continued:

"Then Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the one over from Shardul. After that, when spin came, it was all downhill, whether it was Liam Livingstone or Mayank Agarwal."

The 44-year-old also pointed out the issues within the Punjab Kings' batting line-up in IPL 2022. Chopra said:

"There is very little might seen in Punjab's batting because Mayank does not have the form, Bhanuka Rajapaksa's stars have gone down suddenly, Shikhar Dhawan is having a decent year - not a great year, Jonny Bairstow takes a class in the first innings but hasn't played a big knock in the second innings. Liam Livingstone is slightly susceptible on a turning surface."

He concluded by picking Jitesh Sharma and Arshdeep Singh as the star performers for the Punjab Kings in this year's tournament.

"It was Jitesh Sharma who kept this match alive, kept fighting till the end. He has been the find, two players have shone in this team - Jitesh and Arshdeep."

Sharma raised the Punjab Kings' hopes of an unlikely win with his 44-run knock off 34 balls. However, he failed to take his IPL team across the finish line as he was brilliantly caught by David Warner at long-off off Shardul Thakur's bowling.