ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Consistent Chahal proves his credentials

Southampton: Yuzvendra Chahal is one uncanny character in the Indian team, with a cunning knack of picking up regular wickets. The leg-spinner has been a key figure in the middle overs, with his ability to contain and strike at the same time. 

On Wednesday, Chahal produced the second best spell by an Indian on World Cup debut--picking up 4 for 51 to derail South Africa at the Rose Bowl Stadium here.
Chahal bagged the wickets of Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo as South Africa struggled to get going. South Africa managed only 227 for 9 in their 50 overs after opting to bat first.

Incidentally, Mohammed Shami’s 4-35 against Pakistan, taken in 2015 World Cup are the best figures by an Indian on World Cup debut.

The leggie gave India breakthroughs each time South Africa tried to get partnerships going.  

Chess to Mumbai Indians
The 28-year old Chahal, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has represented India in chess at the World Youth Chess Championship.

The youngster though had to give it up as he struggled to find a sponsor. He is listed in World Chess Federation’s official site, as he represented India at many junior tournaments. It was through John Wright’s program of finding youngsters from remote areas, that IPL franchise Mumbai Indians signed him up in 2008.

Though Chahal did not get to play for MI that season in the IPL, he got a chance in the Champions League. He had to wait till 2013 to make his IPL debut, but Chahal attributes that long wait for the tough character that he is today.

The Kul-Cha chemistry
Chahal’s partnership with chinamen bowler Kuldeep Yadav has been the talk of the town, as the two share admirable chemistry.

Since Yadav and Chahal’s arrival on the international arena in 2017, the two wrist spinners have made a tremendous contribution to the Indian team in limited overs cricket.

Chahal has snapped up 75 wickets in 43 ODIs that he’s played at a miserly average of 24, while Kuldeep has taken 87 wickets in 44 matches averaging just 21. 

English pitches are not known to be naturally conducive for spinners, but as he stepped onto the English shores, Chahal was confident. Chahal credits MS Dhoni. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for his and Kuldeep Yadav’s success in white ball cricket.

“Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) has helped a lot. He tells us how a wicket will play and so it helps us figure things out quickly instead of wasting overs on trying to understand the wicket. So that has been a big plus point for both me and Kuldeep,” Chahal had said after India’s first training session in England last week.

Apart from his cricket, Chahal is a known techno geek and loves to interview his team-mates post-training sessions. He has his own YouTube channel the ‘Chahal TV’, which airs videos featuring Indian cricketers’ interviews etc. 

Going by the trend, spinners will play a key role in England this summer and armed with the confidence in his craft and the conviction of captain Kohli, Chahal is up for the challenge.