"Emotions shouldn't get the better of you" - Aakash Chopra lauds Mohammed Siraj's spell in GT's IPL 2025 win vs RCB

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Mohammed Siraj for bowling a potent spell in the Gujarat Titans' (GT) IPL 2025 win against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He noted that the former RCB pacer didn't get swayed by the emotions of playing an away game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Siraj registered figures of 3/19 in four overs as GT restricted RCB to 169/8 in Match 14 of IPL 2025 in Bengaluru on Wednesday, April 2. The visitors then achieved the target with eight wickets and 13 deliveries to spare to register a second successive win after a loss in their tournament opener.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener praised Siraj for keeping his emotions aside and bowling a fiery spell in GT's IPL 2025 clash against RCB.

"The two big stories were Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Mohammed Siraj - welcome back, he returned home and bowled incredibly well. Cricket is a game of emotions. Mohammed Siraj is an emotional guy, but he doesn't play emotionally. You don't get carried away," Chopra said (1:20).

"Emotions shouldn't get the better of you, and when we saw Mohammed Siraj, it seemed like he was cranking it up. He was bowling fast and going till 145 kph. He was bowling gun-barrel straight. Phil Salt got a life as well, but then the ball went and hit his stumps. He was outstanding," he added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator also appreciated Prasidh Krishna (1/26 in four overs) for bowling well with the old ball and head coach Ashish Nehra for ensuring the GT seamers were utilized effectively.

"Prasidh Krishna bowled an over in the powerplay but then bowled a lot with the old ball. He has not been used as a new-ball bowler. You see Ashish Nehra's imprint in that. He knows how to extract the best from everyone. No one is bowling slower ones, and he is not asking Prasidh Krishna to bowl full and get the ball to swing," Chopra observed.

However, Aakash Chopra opined that Rashid Khan's form would be a slight concern for GT, considering the wily spinner went wicketless and conceded 54 runs in four overs. On the flip side, he praised Sai Kishore (2/22 in four overs) for bowling an impressive spell.

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"You didn't score the runs that should have been scored" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's batting in IPL 2025 loss vs GT

RCB were reduced to 42/4 after 6.2 overs in their IPL 2025 clash against GT. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Reflecting on RCB's batting in Wednesday's game, Aakash Chopra noted that they posted a below-par total, highlighting that Rajat Patidar and company were overaggressive at the start.

"You didn't score the runs that should have been scored. That is the end of the story. The truth is that all teams will feel slightly guilty as they are not pacing their innings well. They start as though they are sitting atop a flying horse, crash-land suddenly, and then try to get up," he said in the same video.

However, the analyst praised Liam Livingstone and Tim David for ensuring that RCB reached a respectable total.

"However, unlike KKR and SRH, they at least played the entire 20 overs. Tim David came in the end and hit a few decent shots. Before that, Liam Livingstone saved their honor a little, and they reached at least a fighting total," Chopra observed.

Livingstone top-scored for RCB in their IPL 2025 clash against GT with a 40-ball 54. David smashed 32 runs off 18 deliveries, with Jitesh Sharma (33 off 21) being the only other RCB player to score more than 15 runs.