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Former Kolkata Knight Riders leg-spinner Piyush Chawla who was part of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 title win has questioned Ajinkya Rahane-led side's approach against Mumbai Indians (MI). KKR were bowled out for 116 at Wankhede Stadium as they suffered a collapse and lost half the side for just 45 runs. After the comprehensive eight-wicket loss, Chawla feels that batters needed to respect the conditions and tread lightly when the ball was swinging. He criticised shot selection of Venkatesh Iyer who was roped in for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction.
"Sometimes, you have to respect the conditions. It wasn't a typical batting surface, especially with the new ball. You need to play cautiously at the start because once the ball gets older and softer, that's when you can go for your shots. But here, that didn't happen.
"We all know Trent Boult can swing the ball outside, and it was clear that he had a plan for Sunil Narine, which worked perfectly. Venkatesh Iyer also struggled, repeatedly attempting fancy shots. As I mentioned earlier, the pressure of his heavy price tag is always there," Chawla said on JioStar.
Venkatesh was dismissed for just three runs from nine balls. He edged one to wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton off Deepak Chahar's bowling. In the opening clash of the season, he lost his wicket for just six runs.
Chawla feels Rinku Singh's shot off the short ball was unnecessary considering the position KKR were in and the time left in the innings. Rinku got out to debutant left-arm pacer Ashwarni Kumar after scoring just 17 runs.
"Then, the way Rinku got out -- he has a good head on his shoulders, but that shot was unnecessary. There were still 8-10 overs left, and the team needed stability. Even with an impact player and batting depth till number nine, they couldn't play the full 20 overs. That tells the whole story," said the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history.
Chawla praises Pandya's captaincy
Chawla also lauded MI captain Hardik Pandya for his attacking approach. He feels Pandya's bowling changes were spot-on.
"I think the best part of his captaincy was his attacking approach. He read the conditions well and understood that there was something in the pitch for the seamers, so he used them effectively. One move I particularly liked was when Vignesh came in to bowl while Harshit Rana was batting towards the end.
"You want to get that wicket rather than letting the opposition add another 10-15 runs with Ramandeep Singh still there. Overall, his decision-making was spot on.
"When a partnership was building between Manish Pandey and Rinku Singh, he brought Ashwani Kumar into the attack, and that over changed the game. The team executed their plans perfectly today," the 36-year-old said.
