IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra picks six best innings of the tournament

Though only 29 matches were hosted before IPL 2021 was postponed for an indefinite time, the viewers were entertained with thrilling and jaw-dropping knocks by the batsmen. Former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra acknowledged the efforts made by the batters throughout the league as he picked top six knocks from the T20 Championship.

In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked the spectacular innings of unbeaten 87 off just 34 deliveries played by Kieron Pollard against Chennai Super Kings as the best knock of IPL 2021. Pollard single-handedly took Mumbai Indians (MI) to victory as his sublime knock helped Mumbai chase the massive total of 219 runs. 

“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.

On the second spot, Chopra placed the quickfire knock by AB de Villiers. While playing against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), AB smashed 76 runs off just 34 balls on the spin-friendly track of Chepauk. Exploits by AB helped RCB is posting 204 runs on the scoreboard.

Jos Buttler and Mayank Agarwal also feature in the elite list by Aakash Chopra

For the third position, the former KKR player picked RCB’s opening batter Devdutt Padikkal. Playing against Rajsthan Royals, Padikkal slammed his maiden century in the Indian Premier League as he amassed 101 runs off 52 balls. Devdutt stitched an unbeaten 181-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli to help RCB chase 178 runs.

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson hammered a century in RR’s first match of IPL 2021 against Punjab Kings. Though his century came in a losing cause, he managed to attract the attention of the cricket fraternity by scoring 119 runs off 63 deliveries. Chopra rated that class innings by Sanju as the fourth-best knock of IPL 2021.

The former cricketer voted Jos Buttler’s 124 off 64 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as the fifth-best innings of IPL 2021 while Mayank Agarwal’s 99 off 58 balls against Delhi Capitals (DC) found the sixth place. In the absence of KL Rahul, Mayank made his captaincy debut and made headlines with his impressive knock with the willow.