‘Couldn't understand what Rajasthan did’ - Aakash Chopra gives his take on Rajasthan's humiliating loss to Gujarat

The 48th game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 featured a clash between the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals and the defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Friday, May 5.

In the first innings, the bowling attack of Gujarat dismantled the batting line-up of the hosts. Rajasthan were bundled out for a meagre 118 runs due to brilliant spells by Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. During the run chase, Gujarat dominated their opposition as brilliant knocks by Wriddiman Saha, Shubman Gill, and skipper Hardik Pandya led the side to a win by nine wickets.

Following the side’s humiliating loss, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra came forward to give his take on the match. He even opined that it was an extremely boring match and that Rajasthan were demolished by the defending champions.

"It was an extremely boring type of match. Couldn't understand what Rajasthan did. Rajasthan have been demolished. They opted to bat after winning the toss, but did they bat? Rajasthan managed only 118 runs. The batting was extremely ordinary. Sanju (Samson) made a few runs, but the match was going absolutely one-sided. When they came to bowl, they didn't pick up a single wicket in the first six overs," Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

This match was totally beyond my understanding: Chopra

Furthermore, Aakash Chopra questioned why Sanju Samson did not bring on the spinners in the powerplay when it was the spin bowling that dismantled their batting line-up in the first innings. He even went on to say that the game was completely beyond his understanding.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the only wicket-taker for Rajasthan during the run chase, he dismissed the in-form Shubman Gill, however, to no avail, as skipper Hardik Pandya’s explosive knock after the fall of the first wicket propelled Gujarat to a resounding win.

"Spin destroyed you, but you didn't bowl a single over of spin in the first six overs. You got Ravichandran Ashwin in the 12th or 13th over. What do you do? This match was totally beyond my understanding," Chopra said.