Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has picked KL Rahul as a player to watch out for in the upcoming match against Delhi Capitals. Rahul scored 29 runs off 33 balls in the previous match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
Rahul was slammed for maintaining a slow strike rate as he failed to get out of the jail. On the other hand, SRH was able to chase down the target of 166 in just 9.4 overs as Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma scored 89 and 75 runs respectively.
Meanwhile, Rahul has scored 460 runs in 12 matches of the ongoing IPL 2024 at an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 136.09.
“Let’s start with KL Rahul. He is the sort of player who you expect to do well. It’s a small ground, the pitch has become flat here, and I don’t see any major threat in the opposition who can trap him. He played extremely slowly in the last match. He would want to play slightly faster here. He will have the chance to score quicker here because the pitch will be very good,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“The ball will come nicely onto the bat, so it should go nicely off the bat as well. So KL Rahul will be the first player to watch out for, as a captain as well. Maybe you can bat first if you win the toss because there is the pressure of 250 on the opposing team later, and Delhi don’t chase too well. You can ask Bengaluru. They lost by a huge margin while chasing there,” the former India opener added.
On the other hand, the renowned commentator added that Nicholas Pooran is a mighty player who can turn the match on its head with his blistering batting. Pooran has scored 363 runs in 12 matches at an average of 60.50 and a strike rate of 162.05 in the ongoing season.
“Nicholas Pooran – a mighty player who can change the game. Whenever you go to a slightly flatter pitch and a small ground, there is more focus on him in any case. So I am going with Nicholas Pooran, that he should come and hit, although he shouldn’t get trapped in Kuldeep’s web. If I remember correctly, Kuldeep Yadav bowled him through the gate in Lucknow,” he said.
Chopra picked Marcus Stoinis as the third player to watch out for in Tuesday’s game.
“Marcus Stoinis is the third player. Their team is actually revolving around them. They have Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya in bowling for sure but you don’t look at any of them and say that he is your four-over bank and a two-wicket bowler. Stoinis is the third player because he bats and bowls well. If he bowls, he is expensive but has got the wicket-taking knack,” Chopra explained.
It will be a must-win match for both LSG and DC to stay alive in the playoffs race.
