Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra heaped praise on Mitchell Marsh’s knock after Delhi Capitals registered a humdinger one-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025 on Monday. Marsh scored a blistering knock of 72 runs off just 36 balls with the help of six fours and as many sixes while making his debut for LSG.
The Australian was able to get off the mark with a six on the first ball he faced from his compatriot Mitchell Starc. Marsh kept playing with an aggressive style and raced to his fifty off just 21 balls. Thus, he played an instrumental role in helping LSG post 209 runs on the board but in the end, his efforts went in vain.
“Mitchell Marsh needs to be spoken about. He scored his runs at a strike rate of 200. What I found different in him was that it was a slight fall from grace because he is not getting that much money. He was getting a lot of money earlier. He was a highly rated player,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Sometimes you are fired up when you get less money, that he needs to show his worth and tell everyone how good he is. Maybe this is that season where he will play only as a batter and contribute. He holds his bat right at the top. Firstly, he is tall and when he holds the bat so high, along with long levers, he has an excellent range,” he added.
On the other hand, the renowned commentator also praised Nicholas Pooran for his whirlwind knock of 75 runs off just 30 balls. The left-hander smashed six fours and seven sixes and also had the rub of the green on his side as he was dropped by Sameer Rizvi when he was on 17.
“Nicholas Pooran – he bats differently. Firstly, he was retained. How well he batted. One big thing in that was that he was given the No. 3 position. I feel Lucknow’s No. 3 position was up for grabs. Rishabh Pant could have come or they could have sent Pooran,” he said.
Chopra said Pooran is unstoppable when he gets going with the bat.
“Very few teams have their top three as overseas players, but they did that, and Nicholas Pooran did not disappoint. He is a maverick. The power he has to hit sixes, you cannot stop him at all, he keeps hitting sixes. He was like that one more time,” Chopra observed.
Lucknow Super Giants will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.
