Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra criticized the RCB for using Glenn Maxwell after the loss. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Eliminator match held on Wednesday night at the Narendra Modi Stadium, eliminating the RCB from the current IPL 2024 season.
The Bengaluru-based team was asked to bat first and set RR 173 to win, but RR successfully chased down the score and won by four wickets with one over remaining.
For Chopra, Maxwell’s dismal IPL performance was a special concern. After Cameron Green was out of the game with the previous delivery, the Australian all-rounder was removed for a first-ball duck while attempting to knock Ravichandran Ashwin to the farthest boundary.
Glenn Maxwell, sir, what are you doing? To be honest, I don’t even think he has scored 70–80 runs in nine games. His best score was likely 28, and he has a 120 strike rate. First of all, the shot he made: how and why did you slog it out after a player had just left? “Is accountability nonexistent?” he posted on his YouTube page.
There are moments when you wonder if he’s concerned: Aakash Chopra
In ten games, the 35-year-old scored just 52 runs at an average of 5.77, making him a huge underperformer for RCB this year. Chopra believed that Maxwell’s lackadaisical attitude during the season contributed to his subpar play.
The team may also believe that since he is such a prominent player and they are paying him 10 crore rupees, they should expect you to play cricket for them in the same way that he does for Australia. You can sometimes tell if he is concerned or not. Does he truly have such a great affinity for the side? He certainly does, but there is definitely some doubt about the manner he plays. He also failed to make an easy catch, Aakash Chopra continued.
Despite applauding Rajat Patidar (34 off 22) and Mahipal Lomror (32 off 17) for their brief appearances, Chopra thought RCB’s total was lacking following Virat Kohli’s (33 off 24) strong start. In addition, he questioned their choice to promote Green over the highly effective Patidar following the early dismissal of captain Faf du Plessis.
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“After winning the toss, Rajasthan declared they would bowl first, and Trent Boult started off bowling well. In three overs, he gave up just six runs and removed Faf du Plessis. RCB declared that they will switch things up this time, sending Cameron Green instead of Rajat Patidar at number three instead of every time. I have no idea why they sent him,” he continued.
With Trent Boult (1/16), Ashwin (2/19), and Avesh Khan (3/44) leading RR’s bowling attack, Chopra believed RCB lost an opportunity to post a more formidable score. Although RR lost wickets during the chase, Riyan Parag‘s 36 off 26 was crucial, and Rovman Powell’s six to complete the victory sealed the victory.