IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra picks the top six innings of the tournament
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Aakash Chopra
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra picked the top six knocks from the 29 matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
The 14th edition of the tournament got suspended after four IPL franchises reported positive COVID-19 cases. The BCCI is now looking for a window later this year to conduct the remaining games.
The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard’s ruthless knock of 87* runs off just 34 balls against Chennai Super Kings as his top pick.
“My innings of the tournament is Kieron Pollard’s knock against CSK in Delhi. I agree the ground is small, he has a thick bat and powerful forearms but it is not easy to chase. When you are chasing 15 runs per over, you have no option but to hit but while hitting your heart is beating that there is no scope of a mistake,” said Chopra.
RCB’s AB de Villiers played a mind-blowing knock of 76 runs from 34 deliveries against Kolkata on a spin-friendly pitch of Chepauk. Chopra placed this inning as the second-best individual batting performance of IPL 2021.
“At No.2, I have kept AB de Villiers vs KKR at Chennai. Batting was tough in Chennai as teams were winning after scoring 130-odd runs. The batting was very difficult in the death overs there and in such a case AB de Villiers’s knock was an amazing one. He took the team beyond 200 and showed that he is from a different planet,” observed Chopra.
At number three, another RCB batsman appeared and this time it’s their opener Devdutt Padikkal. The youngster smashed an unbeaten century against Rajasthan Royals to comfortably clinch the game for his side.
“Devdutt Padikkal had Covid earlier and missed the first match because of that. After that, he didn’t score runs in the matches in Chennai. There was pressure developing on him and he scored a century against Rajasthan Royals. It was his first century and could be the turning point of his career,” stated Chopra.
Chopra names the other three top knocks of IPL 2021
RR skipper Sanju Samson’s blissful century against Punjab Kings was placed at the fourth spot in Chopra’s list. He mentioned that the Kerala cricketer smashed these runs against a quality bowling unit.
“At No.4, I have kept Sanju Samson’s century. When someone scores a century in the second innings, that’s incredible, especially when it comes in a 220-run chase. The bowling was not ordinary as there was Shami, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Arshdeep and Murugan Ashwin,” said Chopra.
The 43-year old kept Rajasthan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler’s miraculous inning of 124 runs at the fifth position. He mentioned that the Englishman played this knock despite struggling during the first 30 balls he faced during that match.
“At No.5, I have kept Buttler’s century. 124 runs in a 20-over game are huge. There was Rashid Khan in the opposition team and his bat was not striking the ball till the 11th over. He demolished the opposition after his first 30-odd deliveries, Jos played like a boss,” added Chopra.
The former India opener concluded his list with PBKS opener Mayank Agarwal’s unbeaten 99 runs. He mentioned that Punjab’s stand-in skipper played such a wonderful knock despite no support from the other end.
“Last but not the least, the last innings is Mayank Agarwal’s unbeaten 99. KL Rahul was not there and he was playing his first match as captain, Gayle and the rest of the batsmen had fallen at the other end. He was facing the good bowling attack of Delhi but some of his shots were delicious and sumptuous,” concluded Chopra.
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