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Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra was baffled at Lucknow Super Giants' captain KL Rahul to bring in Ravi Bishnoi so late to bowl against the Punjab Kings on Saturday. Chopra said the decision was even more stunning after the leg-spinner took a couple of wickets in his three overs.
Bishnoi, the Super Giants' frontline spinner, didn't come on to bowl until the 15th over of the game. The wrist-spinner struck in his first over to remove Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza in the second. He bowled the final over, but the Kings required only seven as Shahrukh Khan hit the winning runs.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned how Bishnoi didn't even bowl, while Krunal Pandya and Krishnappa Gowtham bowled seven between them.
"Punjab Kings lose their openers cheaply. Matthew Short played a good knock, but his dismissal meant the Kings had problems. Harpreet Bhatia joins Sikandar Raza and we screamed in commentary about bringing Ravi Bishnoi to bowl. It defied logic that KL Rahul brought him so late.
"He finished the overs of Gowtham and Pandya, but not bowling Bishnoi earlier was beyond us. He keeps Lucknow in the match by dismissing Curran and Raza, but bowled only three overs."
The Kings stumbled to 45-3 in six overs while chasing a tricky 160. However, Sikandar Raza scored a brisk half-century, while Shahrukh Khan hit 23* to 10 to help PBKS record their third victory.
"It was heartening to see him do well here" - Aakash Chopra on Sikandar Raza
Chopra further said he was delighted to see Raza translate his form for Zimbabwe into the IPL.
"Punjab lose wickets and the match goes down to the wire; however, Shahrukh Khan changes the complexion of the game. He also hits the winning runs. Raza has played well for Zimbabwe for a long time and it was heartening to see him do well here. Both captains didn't use their bowling resources well. The same goes for David Warner. If used the options well, then only teams have the advantage."
While Punjab Kings won their third game of IPL 2023, the Super Giants suffered their second loss.
