Aakash Chopra praises RCB star batter for match-winning knock against PBKS despite injury

RCB team & Aakash Chopra (Source: Twitter)

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis played a match-winning knock against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday, April 20, and helped the team register a 24-run victory. Du Plessis was injured and played as an Impact Player under Virat Kohli. The new Indian Premier League (IPL) rule aided RCB as the South African batter struck a magnificent half-century to help his side set a 175-run target for the hosts.

After the 100+ first-wicket partnership between Kohli and du Plessis, the rest of the RCB batters failed to sustain the momentum and the latter's innings proved crucial to their victory. While reviewing the match, former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra praised du Plessis' brilliant effort despite his injury.

"Faf du Plessis played as an Impact Player. He has a muscle tear in his ribs but the guy is still playing. God only knows how he is playing. Rohit Sharma played that day due to the 'Impact Player' rule and here Faf played, which is actually a great blessing that they are at least getting a chance to play," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

The two RCB openers got off to a good start and put on a 137-run stand before Kohli was dismissed in the 17th over. The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter pointed out that despite a strong start, they fell short of the score they should have achieved.

"When he came to bat, I felt he would not hit that much but he hit a lot. Both (Du Plessis and Virat Kohli) batted very well and had a partnership of 137. It seemed they would score 195-200 but they weren't scored. You could reach 175 only. So I felt they slowed down slightly in the end."

Miyan magic - outstanding: Chopra compliments Siraj

Defending a modest total, their bowlers, who were often criticised for being crushed by opponents, stepped up against PBKS and did well to bowl out the home team for 150 runs. Pacer Mohammed Siraj, who took four wickets and recorded his best bowling figures in the IPL, was the main destroyer. Chopra ended his video session by praising the RCB seamer for bowling a brilliant spell.

"Mohammed Siraj ka raj. Miyan magic - outstanding. Atharva Taide got out at the start and after that Liam Livingstone. They took an amazing review. Jitesh Sharma fought till the end but Miyan magic came again. He had four wickets in his kitty. Siraj is absolutely stellar this season," the 45-year-old concluded.