"Why was it given to Deepak Chahar?" - Aakash Chopra questions Hardik Pandya after MI's IPL 2025 loss vs GT

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned Hardik Pandya for giving the match-deciding final over in the Mumbai Indians' (MI) IPL 2025 clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) to Deepak Chahar. He pointed out that the MI skipper is more used to bowling at the death than Chahar.

MI posted 155/8 after being asked to bat first in Match 56 of IPL 2025 in Mumbai on Tuesday, May 6. GT registered a three-wicket win via the DLS method, achieving the revised 19-over 147-run target on the final delivery.

Reviewing the MI-GT IPL 2025 clash in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener wondered why Chahar bowled the final over instead of Hardik.

"The question was whether Hardik should have bowled the last over. Why was it given to Deepak Chahar? I would have loved him (Hardik) to bowl. There are two or three big reasons for that. If man-to-man marking is done, who bowls more overs at the death? It's not Deepak Chahar," he said (0:15).

Chopra highlighted that Hardik bowled the match-winning final over in the 2024 T20 World Cup final and has more variations in his repertoire.

"Hardik Pandya bowled the last over in the World Cup final. He won the trophy. So Hardik Pandya should have bowled. Secondly, if we again do man-to-man marking, Hardik Pandya bowls faster than Deepak Chahar. He can bowl faster, has an off-cutter variation, and a left-hander was at the other end," he observed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the entire MI think tank would have been involved in the decision-making process.

"That was a tactical mistake from the Mumbai camp because there are many analysts and knowledgeable people in the Mumbai camp. So it would have been a collective decision. I thought they just miscalculated it. Deepak Chahar could have bowled better, but I think Hardik made a mistake, and they lost crucial two points," Chopra elaborated.

The Gujarat Titans needed 15 runs off the final over in their IPL 2025 away game against the Mumbai Indians. Deepak Chahar was hit for a six and a four, and even bowled a no-ball, with Hardik Pandya missing a run-out when Arshad Khan stole the winning run off the final delivery.

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"How does he do it alone?" - Aakash Chopra lauds Jasprit Bumrah's spell in MI's IPL 2025 loss vs GT

Jasprit Bumrah delivered a potent and economical spell in MI's IPL 2025 clash against GT. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Ashwani Kumar, especially the right-arm seamer, for bowling impressive spells in the Mumbai Indians' IPL 2025 clash against the Gujarat Titans.

"Mumbai's batting wasn't good, but the bowling was excellent, whether it was Bumrah, Boult or Ashwani Kumar. Ashwani Kumar came as a concussion sub for Corbin Bosch. The three bowlers bowled incredibly well. Bumrah was outstanding. How does he do it alone?" he said (6:40).

While observing that Bumrah struck telling blows, the analyst added that Boult and Ashwani complemented him well.

"He came after the strategic timeout and first dismissed Shubman Gill and then Shahrukh Khan. It seemed like he would win the match, but how would he do it alone? Boult gave only 22 runs in his four overs. Ashwani also gave only 28 runs in four overs. You picked up six wickets in 12 overs of pace and conceded only a handful of runs," Chopra observed.

Jasprit Bumrah registered figures of 2/19 in four overs. While Trent Boult delivered a spell of 2/22 in four overs, Ashwani Kumar also accounted for two dismissals while conceding 28 runs in his four overs.