"This team is no longer about the 3 stars" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's IPL 2022 win vs LSG without major contributions from Faf, Kohli and Maxwell

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are no longer over-reliant on big-ticket players like Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell.

The Bangalore-based side made it through to Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022 by defeating the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 14 runs. However, the trio of Kohli, Du Plessis and Maxwell were not the architects of the win as they contributed a total of 34 runs in the 35 balls they faced.

While reviewing the eliminator encounter in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that RCB won without substantial contributions from their star players. He observed:

"The biggest thing is that neither did Faf score runs - he was dismissed for a golden duck, nor did Virat Kohli score runs - scored a run-a-ball 25. Maxwell's bat also does not fire but despite that, this team wins the match. This is what a team is all about, this team is no longer about the three stars."

The former Indian batter added that new stars are emerging for RCB in every game. Chopra said:

"The story has gone far away from that, they are doing amazing death bowling. They are finding new heroes in every game and this time around it was all about Rajat Patidar."

Rajat Patidar was the star performer for RCB in Wednesday's (May 25) encounter. The 28-year-old smoked an unbeaten 112 off just 54 balls, a knock studded with 12 fours and seven sixes.

The detailed IPL 2022 schedule are available here.

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"He started playing second fiddle" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's knock for RCB

Virat Kohli scored 25 runs off 24 balls [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about RCB's innings, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Kohli became circumspect after Du Plessis' early dismissal. He elaborated:

"Mohsin Khan came and shone, the outside edge he got of Faf du Plessis, it was absolutely stellar. Rajat Patidar came at No. 3 and Virat Kohli was there at the other end, who was looking good. He started beautifully but became slow when Faf got out. He started playing second fiddle."

The reputed commentator added that LSG seemed to have gained the ascendancy when Maxwell followed Kohli to the pavilion. Chopra observed:

"Maxwell got out and it seemed the game will become interesting because KL Rahul cleverly got Krunal at that time. But after that, Mahipal Lomror was there with Rajat Patidar for some time."

Chopra concluded by highlighting that Patidar and Dinesh Karthik made the best use of the reprieves given to them by the LSG fielders. He explained:

"Then comes Dinesh Karthik and this is where the game changed, the number of catches that were dropped. KL Rahul first dropped Dinesh Karthik's catch. Deepak Hooda - safe fielder, he let go of a free-home delivery, Rajat Patidar's catch. Dinesh Karthik did an amazing job but the star of the night was of course Rajat Patidar."

Patidar and Karthik strung together an unbroken 92-run partnership for the fifth wicket in less than seven overs. Their efforts helped RCB set a mammoth 208-run target for LSG, which proved enough in the end.