Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has noted that Virat Kohli doesn’t have great numbers against Rajasthan Royals’ seamer Sandeep Sharma. Chopra opined that Kohli won’t enjoy playing against Sharma as the seamer doesn’t provide any extra pace.
Sandeep has dismissed Kohli on seven occasions in the IPL and thus has had his wood on the talismanic batter. However, in the last four seasons, Kohli’s strike rate against the seasoned seamer has taken an upward trajectory. In the last four seasons, Kohli has remained unbeaten against Sharma and has scored 59 runs off 33 balls.
“Sandeep Sharma vs Virat Kohli again is a story because he (Kohli) doesn’t have very good numbers against him (Sandeep). The strike rate is decent, but the numbers aren’t excellent. He doesn’t like playing Sandeep Sharma because he doesn’t provide pace,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra said Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger will hold the key for RR whereas Devdutt Padikkal and Phil Salt will be under the spotlight.
“Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger will ask tough questions with the new ball. Phil Salt scored a few runs in the last match. So the focus will be on him. Devdutt Padikkal is in dream form. His most runs have come against RR. So that will be worth watching,” he observed.
The renowned commentator wondered if Vaibhav Suryavanshi will give the same treatment to Jacob Duffy and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as he did to Matt Henry and Jasprit Bumrah.
“Once again, Vaibhav vs the opposition bowlers. A lot of focus will be on him. Jacob Duffy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and either Abhinandan Singh or Mangesh Yadav will be there. Vaibhav Suryavanshi did it to Matt Henry first, then to Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. Will he do it to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jacob Duffy now? That’s the big question,” he said.
Chopra hailed RCB’s explosive batting but said their bowling could be a cause of concern.
“RCB are the most explosive team in this league. Everyone keeps hitting from No. 1 to No. 8 or No. 9. It can be very difficult to stop that team, but if they have a weakness, they reduce the opposing team to 29/3 or whatever, but then they score 200. If RCB have a concern, bowling has often looked slightly under pressure,” Chopra observed.
RR will host RCB in Guwahati on Friday.
