"There was a slight question mark on KL Rahul's captaincy" - Aakash Chopra on LSG skipper's handling of bowlers vs Gujarat Titans

Aakash Chopra questioned KL Rahul's captaincy during the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) five-wicket loss against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2022 on Monday.

LSG seemed to have a slight upper hand when Hardik Pandya's side required 68 runs off the last five overs, with two relatively new batters at the crease. However, Rahul gave the 16th and 17th overs to spinners, who were taken to the cleaners by Rahul Tewatia and David Miller.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reflected on the Lucknow Super Giants' defeat against the Gujarat Titans. He said the following about Rahul's captaincy:

"There was a slight question mark on KL Rahul's captaincy because Dushmantha Chameera - the best bowler on the day - he took one over along. He had taken two wickets in his first two overs and he bowled only three overs and not the fourth."

The former India cricketer highlighted that Rahul made a mistake by giving the 17th over to Ravi Bishnoi despite Deepak Hooda proving expensive in the previous over. Chopra explained:

"Deepak Hooda bowled a 22-run over. And then you made Ravi Bishnoi bowl the 17th over with an extremely wet ball. You had two overs left of Dushmantha and Avesh but the 17th over, which should have been bowled by a fast bowler, because a spinner got hit a lot in the 16th, you again went to a spinner. That was a calculation error."

Hooda and Bishnoi conceded a total of 39 runs in the 16th and 17th overs. Dushmantha Chameera, who was LSG's most potent bowler on Monday, ended up bowling just three overs.

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"What did Shubman Gill do?" - Aakash Chopra on the Gujarat Titans' opener's dismissal

Rahul Tewatia and David Miller's partnership turned the match in Gujarat Titans' favor [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about the Gujarat Titans' run chase, Aakash Chopra was extremely critical of Shubman Gill's shot selection. He elaborated:

"What did Shubman Gill do, played a slog in the first over itself to get out. You are saying what are you doing? One team's opener was dismissed for zero and you did the same thing. After that, Vijay Shankar out, bowled by a yorker on the stumps."

The reputed commentator lauded Hardik Pandya, Matthew Wade, Tewatia and Miller's contributions during the Gujarat Titans' batting effort. Chopra observed:

"Hardik Pandya came to bat as if he is absolutely set. Matthew Wade was going slow and steady. The match became interesting when Krunal Pandya dismissed Hardik Pandya and Wade also got out. Rahul Tewatia justified the huge paycheck he got, outstanding knock. David Miller was very good till the time he was there."

Aakash Chopra also had a word of praise for Abhinav Manohar. The Karnataka youngster smoked an unbeaten 15 off just seven deliveries to help the Gujarat Titans achieve the 159-run target with a couple of balls to spare.