"Krunal Pandya played one of the best knocks of his IPL career" - Aakash Chopra on Lucknow Super Giants' IPL 2023 win vs Mumbai Indians

Aakash Chopra has lauded Krunal Pandya for playing a responsible knock in the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) IPL 2023 win against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Pandya scored a 42-ball 49 as LSG set a 178-run target for MI after being asked to bat first in Lucknow on Tuesday, May 16. Their bowlers then restricted Rohit Sharma and Co. to 172/5 to help their team register a five-run win and move a step closer to qualifying for the playoffs.

While reflecting on the Lucknow Super Giants' innings in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on their skipper for the knock he played, saying:

"When Jason Behrendorff bowled the first ball, we felt 150 was a winning score. Quinton de Kock got out. The ball was not going to the boundary at all. In my opinion, Krunal Pandya played one of the best knocks of his IPL career."

The former Indian opener highlighted the significance of Pandya's knock despite it not being a huge score, explaining:

"He made 49 runs, was extremely close to a fifty, but if he had not played like that, this team wouldn't have reached where they did because it was extremely important for an Indian batter to be in the middle on this ground."

The Lucknow Super Giants were in a spot of bother when they were reduced to 35/3 after 6.1 overs. Pandya then added 82 runs with Marcus Stoinis (89* off 47) before he retired hurt due to cramps.

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"The most valuable player was Marcus Stoinis" - Aakash Chopra lauds Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder's knock

Marcus Stoinis was at his explosive best in the last few overs of LSG's innings. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra chose Marcus Stoinis as the most valuable player (MVP) of the game ahead of a few other contenders, stating:

"You will see a lot of candidates. Lucknow scored 69 runs in the last five overs and the main person responsible for that was Marcus Stoinis. Ishan Kishan scored a half-century later. You will see Yash Thakur and Mohsin Khan as well but the most valuable player in my opinion was Marcus Stoinis."

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder played a blazing knock on a slightly sluggish surface, elaborating:

"Let me tell you why. This was just the second half-century by an overseas batter for Lucknow at this venue. Kyle Mayers made one in the first match. This guy (Stoinis) flew on a pitch where batting was slightly difficult and a lot of people played at a run-a-ball. He has been absolutely outstanding."

Stoinis' unbeaten 89 was studded with four fours and eight sixes. He scored 45 runs off the first 35 balls he faced before smoking 44 runs off his final 12 deliveries to help his side set the Mumbai Indians a challenging target, which proved enough in the end.