By Bharath Ramaraj
On the face of it, Yuzvendra Chahal, the experienced Punjab Kings spinner, has had a rather indifferent IPL season so far – Nine wickets in nine matches. However, just remove the outside coating and you will observe that seven of those wickets have come in the last four games. In one of those matches, the PBKS spinner didn’t bowl a single delivery, with the game getting abandoned due to persistent rain. The PBKS camp would now trust a rejuvenated Chahal to make an impact in the game against Chennai Super Kings.
So, what to expect of Chahal in the crucial game? What could be the reason behind Chahal’s not-so-good performances in this IPL? How did he bounce back in the PBKS-KKR encounter where he took a four-for? Let’s delve deeper to analyse the above-mentioned questions.
One of the factors held against Chahal is that he has hardly used the googly in the recent past. Yours truly can only recall one each googly bowled by Chahal to both the right-hander and the left-hander in the ongoing IPL. In this day and age, where batters are increasingly playing with a sense of adventure, it is imperative to possess enough weapons to surprise the batting tribe. Unfortunately, in Chahal’s case, his bowling seems to be on a slow decline.
Despite those drawbacks, Chahal did showcase his traits in PBKS’ come-from-behind win over KKR. The highlight of his spell was the delivery that he bowled to Rinku Singh. It was a quintessential Chahal offering in the sense that he tossed it up and imparted enough drift to lure the unsuspecting Rinku out of the crease, only for the wicketkeeper to effect the stumping. He also removed Ramandeep Singh in the same over. And that single over played a pivotal role in PBKS’ thrilling victory.
Interestingly, he did employ a googly in that game, resulting in the dismissal of the KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane. That particular spell is also an indicator as to why Chahal needs to use the hidden weapon a few more times in the upcoming CSK-PBKS game. It is true that PBKS still have Glenn Maxwell and Harpreet Brar in their ranks. But the duo is more of a supporting cast to Chahal in the spin department.
On a Chennai track that is all set to assist the spinners, the onus would be on Chahal to outfox the opponents. A box of tricks could help his cause, instead of possessing just one.