"They have already tried 7 opening combinations" - Aakash Chopra on DC's problems ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs MI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked an unstable opening combination as one of the Delhi Capitals' (DC) issues heading into their IPL 2025 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI). However, he opined that the franchise will likely persist with KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis as their two openers.

DC will lock horns with MI in Match 63 of IPL 2025 in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 21. With 13 points from 12 games, the visitors are placed fifth on the points table, and a loss in Wednesday's game will knock them out of the playoff race.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener reckoned that Rahul would continue opening alongside Du Plessis at his happy hunting ground in DC's IPL 2025 clash against MI.

"Delhi's problems are different. They have already tried seven opening combinations. It seems like KL Rahul will only open with Faf du Plessis now, and KL Rahul likes this ground a lot, and he also likes batting against Mumbai. He has scored a lot of runs at this ground," he said (10:10).

Chopra opined that Rahul might want to bat more explosively than he did during his century in DC's last game against the Gujarat Titans (GT).

"However, he might have definitely thought after the last match that he scored a hundred, but it didn't help the team win. So he might try to score even faster because runs weren't scored in the first five overs of the last match. The GT bowlers had kept them totally tied," he observed.

KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 112 off 65 deliveries to help DC post 199/3 in their IPL 2025 clash against GT in Delhi on May 18. However, the total proved insufficient as Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill stitched together an unbroken 205-run opening partnership to hand the home team a 10-wicket defeat.

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"You will have to hit as much from the other end" - Aakash Chopra on DC's other batters ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs MI

Faf du Plessis scored five runs off 10 deliveries in DC's IPL 2025 clash against GT. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the other Delhi Capitals batters also need to bat aggressively, especially if they are setting a target.

"They will expect runs from Rahul, but along with that, another thing happened that day. Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel and Axar Patel together scored 60 runs off 45 balls. It won't work out like that. You will have to hit as much from the other end. I feel that if they get to bat first, Delhi should go for the jugular," he said (10:50).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Axar Patel and company should keep an attacking approach throughout their innings and utilize all their batting resources.

"Delhi should start hitting and not stop at all because you have such a lengthy batting lineup. So send everyone because, in the end, you scored 199 and had lost only three wickets, which means you scored less runs, and they were less only. You lost the match by 10 wickets," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra urged the Delhi Capitals to use Dushmantha Chameera with the new ball alongside Mustafizur Rahman. While acknowledging that a three-pronged spin attack might not be ideal considering the rainy conditions in Mumbai, he pointed out that Axar Patel and Vipraj Nigam provide batting depth, and that the visitors do not have too many seam-bowling options either.