It took a dream spell from leggie Yuzvendra Chahal to script a history. The lightly built Chahal ran through the English batting claiming six wickets in Bengaluru on Wednesday night. In the process, he became the third bowler in the history of t20 to claim six wickets in a match. What proved to the icing on the cake was an emphatic Indian win which also helped the hosts clinch the T 20 series.
The Chahal show was the stellar point of Wednesday night as the Royal Challengers Bangalore player spun a web around the hapless English batsmen. He snapped the England T20 captain Eon Morgan and Joe Root in successive deliveries –the stuff dreams are made off. The England collapse he triggered was sensational as the visitors lost eight wickets for eight runs in 18 deliveries..
And to think of it, the Haryana boy may not even had played in the Bengaluru tie if Ashwin and Jadega had not given the tie a miss.
Not surprisingly, Chahal won a lot of acclaim. “Well his (Chahal’s) was a dream show. What more can one expect from a relative new comer and that too in a pressure cooker like situation. He has proved that he has arrived on the big stage,” said a former cricketer.
Another cricketer felt it was the manner in which Chahal conducted himself in the match that had to be applauded.
“He was so composed and bowled very well during the crunch overs. Mind you it’s never easy when one has to bowl against the best batsmen in the world. He really came out firing on all cylinders,” said the cricketer…..
On his part, Chahal said he was at home with the conditions.
“It’s like a home ground match for me,” Chahal said. “I’ve not played too many series for India. Whenever I come to Bangalore, I get a vibe. I feel at home here as I’ve spent three seasons with RCB now.”
Indian Captain Virat Kohli also praised Chahal. “The key today was to take wickets in the middle overs,” Kohli said.
“Chahal didn’t do such a bad job with that. I always back someone like Chahal. In the IPL too, I use him in most of the matches. He never says no to bowling with the new ball or bowling in the middle overs, so I mean having a guy like this is great. He doesn’t say no to any situation,” he added.
Furthermore, the Indian captain said he was impressed by the depth of the Indian spinners. “Guys like Chahal and Mishy have done well for us both in limited-overs and in Tests,” Kohli said.
“Jayant too came in beautifully and did very well for us in the Tests. It gives us an opportunity to rest Ashwin and Jadeja whenever we want. There is no harm in using them as Test specialists and keeping them fresh. Guys like Chahal and Mishra and even [Parvez] Rasool are bowling so well. So we have a lot of spinners who are not only run-containing bowlers but wicket-taking as well,” said the Indian captain.