Aakash Chopra mentioned KL Rahul's fine numbers while batting against the Mumbai Indians ahead of the five-time champions' clash against the Delhi Capitals on Saturday, April 4, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The wicketkeeper-batter has slammed 976 runs at an average of 69.71 and notched up three centuries against the Mumbai Indians.
Rahul opened the batting with Pathum Nissanka in Delhi Capitals' opening game of the season against Lucknow Super Giants. However, they could only score 0 and
1, respectively. Chopra said that the Capitals would need their opening duo to fire against the five-time champions on Saturday.
"KL Rahul's most runs have come against the Mumbai Indians. Who has scored the most runs against the Mumbai Indians? KL Rahul is No. 1 in that as well. So he likes this team. He had a first-ball duck in the last match, and might score runs in this match because runs will be needed from him and Pathum Nissanka," he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Chopra stated that he felt Dushmantha Chameera and Lungi Ngidi might not play together for the Capitals for some time now as the latter bowled well in tandem with Indian seamers Mukesh Kumar and T Natarajan against the Super Giants.
"They have incredible depth in bowling. I am not expecting a change now. I was thinking earlier about playing Chameera and Ngidi. Now they won't play them because the last match went so well. So they will continue in the same fashion. They don't need to change much," he observed.
Jasprit Bumrah's numbers are not good in Delhi: Chopra
While Chopra stated that Jasprit Bumrah has bagged many wickets against the Capitals, he mentioned that the ace speedster's numbers at the Arun Jaitley Stadium are not too phenomenal.
"Jasprit Bumrah has picked up a lot of wickets against this team, probably the highest wickets against this team, but his numbers are not good in Delhi - strange. However, Hardik Pandya plays very well in Delhi. Tilak Varma plays very well against this team," he said in the same video.
Chopra advised MI skipper Hardik Pandya to use veteran New Zealand seamer Trent Boult a bit more with the new ball.
"The only thing I am hoping for from Mumbai is to bowl two overs of Trent Boult in the first six overs. I don't think you are getting the job done properly from Trent Boult by bowling him four one-over spells. Hardik can bowl with the new ball. Shardul Thakur can come in the middle. You will definitely give one more chance to Allah Ghazanfar," Chopra observed.
According to the cricketer-turned-expert, the Capitals have better spinners in their arsenal, and they could thrive in an afternoon game. However, he called the MI batting lineup more dangerous.
