Former Kolkata Knight Riders Batsman Aakash Chopra feels Nicholas Pooran will have a great chance to play against him Mumbai Indians later tonight.
Hardik Pandya’s MI is all set to visit KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants for the 48th match at the Ekana Sports Stadium in Lucknow. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the 2024 IPL season. Both teams, who have had different seasons so far, are playing their tenth game of the season and both are in a must-win situation.
What did Aakash Chopra say about Nicholas Pooran?
Later tonight, while talking about the MI vs LSG match in his latest YouTube video, Aakash Chopra expressed his high expectations from Nicholas Pooran. Chopra believes Pooran will be the batsman to watch out for in Lucknow’s batting order, which features some dangerous names like Quinton de Kock, Rahul and Marcus Stoinis among others.
Aakash Chopra first expressed his confidence in Nicholas Pooran and claimed that he is the heartbeat of LSG’s batting line-up. The former right-hand batsman claimed Lucknow was relaxed until Pooran was at the crease as he had a tendency to hit sixes regularly.
Chopra explained that Nicholas Pooran doesn’t really care about the huge side boundaries in Ekana as his muscle strength helps him clear the fence easily.
“Nicholas Pooran again because I have so much faith in him. I have a feeling you’ll keep breathing until he gets there, but he’ll still make it. – said Aakash Chopra in his latest YT video.
The 38-year-old then gave a very good reason why Nicholas Pooran was desperate to score runs in front of the home fans. Chopra highlighted how Pooran had performed in Lucknow’s last game against Rajasthan Royals. Pooran left the crease on the first ball after the second strategic time-out of the first innings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
With this in mind, Pooran will aim to go back to basics. Another important reason why Pooran needs to score, according to Aakash Chopra, is the fact that LSG manages less than 20-25 runs every time the Trinidadian doesn’t score runs.
“He got out with the first ball in the last game after the strategic time-out. So he might regret that. If you bat first and he doesn’t score any runs, you are at least 20 to 25 runs short. This is what happened.” No bowler except (Jasprit) Bumrah has performed well so far, so you must support Nicholas Pooran.” – Chopra concluded.
LSG is aiming for third place in the points table
A win tonight would take KL Rahul’s LSG to third place and overtake Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are placed 3rd and 4th in the table. And a win by a big margin tonight could also see them dislodge Kolkata Knight Riders in second place. Can Lucknow make things worse for Mumbai Indians? We will see.