"Kohli played 59 balls to reach 83 and Kolkata had already scored 85 in 5.5 overs" - Aakash Chopra on KKR's IPL 2024 win vs RCB

Aakash Chopra has lauded the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) opening pair of Sunil Narine and Phil Salt for making a challenging target seem small in their IPL 2024 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 83 off 59 deliveries as RCB set KKR a 183-run target in Bengaluru on Friday, March 29. Narine and Salt then added 86 runs in just 6.3 overs as the visitors registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win with 19 deliveries to spare.

Reflecting on the Kolkata Knight Riders' chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that Narine and Salt virtually overshadowed Kohli's innings within the powerplay.

"When Sunil Narine opens, the template is absolutely clear - 'Either I or you will not remain'. He plays in that fashion, tries to hit sixes. Everyone knows that you need to repeatedly bowl bouncers and yorkers, but if you don't get success in that, just like Bengaluru didn't get in the first six overs, he takes the match far away from your grasp," he elaborated (7:05).

"Phil Salt was also there with him. Phil Salt hit 18 runs in the first over itself. He was brilliant. Just to put things in context, the opposing team bowled well but Kohli played 59 balls to reach 83 and Kolkata had already scored 85 in 5.5 overs. Whether it was Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj or Yash Dayal, everyone was hit a lot," the former India opener added.

Narine smoked 47 runs off just 22 deliveries, a knock studded with two fours and five sixes. Salt struck two fours and as many maximums in his 20-ball 30.

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"He stepped out aggressively and ran after the bowlers" - Aakash Chopra on KKR's Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer smashed 50 runs off 30 deliveries. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra praised Venkatesh Iyer for maintaining the momentum provided by the KKR openers.

"It seemed like it was always a foregone conclusion after that. Two wickets fell but after that, Venkatesh Iyer. I recalled - 'Desh hai, videsh hai, charcha-e-Venkatesh hai'. I saw that form this time, where he stepped out aggressively and ran after the bowlers," he said (8:15).

The reputed commentator credited Gautam Gambhir for the tactics and approach adopted by KKR.

"I feel Gautam has given them a lot of confidence. Sunil Narine opening has Gautam Gambhir's imprint. Andre Russell bowling at the death also has a little imprint of Gautam Gambhir. He is empowering them slightly and the same can be said about Venkatesh Iyer. He has been empowered to hit fours and sixes," Chopra explained.

Chopra added that Venkatesh and Shreyas Iyer, who scored an unbeaten 39 off 24 balls, were bound to be back among the runs. He opined that it will be difficult to stop KKR if Sunil Narine continues to fire with the bat at the top and Andre Russell excels with both bat and ball at the death.