Birthday Special: Yuzvendra Chahal – 5 best spells in International cricket
Yuzvendra Chahal, India’s premier leg-spinner, turns 30 today (23rd July). After competing for India in chess competitions, he switched to cricket and mastered the most difficult technique. He made his debut for India against Zimbabwe in 2016, and has faced many ups and downs in his journey ever since.
He caught the attention of cricket fans with his IPL performances while representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore under Virat Kohli’s captaincy. He rose to fame in his first season with RCB in 2014 and became a mainstay for RCB, thanks to his steadiness with the ball and his ability to produce match-winning spells.
As he turns 32, let us have a look at his top five spells in international cricket:
5. 4/46 against South Africa, 2018 (ODI)
Chahal was having a great series against South Africa in 2018. In the third game of the series, Chahal had yet another outstanding bowling performance in which he used his powerful spin bowling to counteract the South African batting lineup’s strong start. India was leading the six-match series by 2-0, and Chahal’s 4/46, alongside Kuldeep Yadav’s four-wicket haul helped the Men in Blue extend their lead to 3-0.
4. 4/23 against Sri Lanka, 2017 (T20)
Right from the beginning of their batting innings, Sri Lanka appeared to be under extreme strain as they attempted to reach the 181-run goal set by the Indian squad. Wickets continued to fall frequently. The Indian bowlers, especially Chahal, who took 4 wickets while only allowing 23 runs in his 4 overs, forced the Lankan hitters to respond. As a result, Sri Lanka’s batting collapsed scoring mere 87 runs.
3. 5/22 against South Africa, 2018 (ODI)
Chahal’s first five-wicket haul came against South Africa at the Centurion Ground when he stormed through the Proteas batting order and assisted India in bowling them out for 118 runs. In his 8.1 overs, Chahal recorded 5/22 runs which also included a maiden over. India’s response saw them easily reach their target with 30 overs to spare.
2. 6/42 against Australia, 2019 (ODI)
Australia was seen struggling in the game as they had lost two early wickets. Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh stitched up a good partnership to anchor the innings. Chahal took 3 fast wickets just as they were starting to gather momentum in their innings and put a brake on the flow of runs. The Australian batting was bowled out for 230 in 48.4 overs after Chahal returned in the final overs to pick three more wickets and register his career-best bowling figures of 6/42 in ODIs.
1. 6/25 against England, 2017 (T20)
When India batted first and set a target of 203, England believed to have a chance of winning the game before Chahal played the trick to produce yet another set of career-best numbers. When England appeared to be comfortable at 119/2 in the 14th over, Chahal took quick wickets to dramatically shift the match’s momentum to India’s advantage. He ended his spell with 6 pivotal wickets, conceding just 25 runs in four overs.
