"Why is Vishnu Vinod coming ahead of Cameron Green?" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' IPL 2023 loss to Lucknow Super Giants

Aakash Chopra has questioned the Mumbai Indians (MI) for batting Vishnu Vinod ahead of Cameron Green in their IPL 2023 loss to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

LSG set MI a 178-run target after being asked to bat first in Lucknow on Tuesday, May 16. The home team then restricted Rohit Sharma and Co. to 172/5 to register a five-run win and put the five-time champions in a spot of bother in the race for the playoffs.

Reflecting on the closing stages of the Mumbai Indians' chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra praised Yash Thakur for bowling an excellent 18th over. However, he questioned the visitors' batting order, stating:

"Tim David batted extremely well, he hit a lot, and he could have won the game for Mumbai. The truth is that Yash Thakur bowled an amazing 18th over despite bowling a no-ball and conceding a free hit. He dismissed Vishnu Vinod in that but why is Vishnu Vinod coming ahead of Cameron Green?"

While criticizing MI for not using Cameron Green effectively, the former Indian opener lauded Mohsin Khan for bowling an outstanding final over, elaborating:

"Did they buy Cameron Green with so much money as a finisher? Then Naveen-ul-Haq bowled an extremely expensive over, conceded 19 runs. Game over, but Mohsin Khan comes, they needed 11 runs and the guy conceded only five runs. It was incredible bowling."

Thakur conceded only nine runs in the 18th over when the Mumbai Indians needed 39 runs off the final three overs. Although Naveen-ul-Haq gave away 19 runs in the penultimate over, Mohsin allowed Green and Tim David to score only five runs in the final over to help his side register a crucial win.

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"Rohit Sharma started like a rocket" - Aakash Chopra on the Mumbai Indians' excellent start

Rohit Sharma scored 37 runs off 25 balls. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra opined that the Mumbai Indians would have won the match easily had Rohit Sharma stayed at the crease a little longer after giving the visitors a flying start alongside Ishan Kishan (59 off 39), saying:

"Rohit Sharma started like a rocket and Ishan Kishan was there with him. Ishan Kishan was brilliant. Mohsin Khan conceded a lot of runs in his first over. Rohit Sharma got out in a slightly strange fashion. If Rohit hadn't gotten out, this story would have finished very easily and much earlier."

The reputed commentator added that the Mumbai Indians fell slightly behind the eight ball due to Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav's slow partnership, observing:

"I think they needed 75 runs off the last 54 balls. So the match was totally in your grasp. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan got out. Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav had a partnership that was very slow because Nehal was not moving that fast."

Yadav and Wadhera added 12 runs in three overs after Kishan's dismissal, with the latter's 20-ball 16 putting pressure on the other batters. The visitors' problems got compounded when the inexperienced Vinod was sent ahead of Green, a decision which probably cost MI the match in the end.