The one aspect of the IPL that’s worth appreciating is the league provides youngsters with a platform to showcase their talent.
Yuzvendra Chahal is a prime example of that. The leg spinner has become a stalwart of the league, having scalped over 200 wickets.
Chahal has outsmarted the opponent batters with his spin wizardry, be it in any phase of the game. And that makes him a bankable player who can be trusted with turning the momentum of the match.
Over the years, Chahal has delivered several match-turning performances with his leg spin. In this article, we’ll glance at Yuzvendra Chahal’s 5 best bowling spells in the IPL.
4/38 vs Mumbai Indians | 2019
Yuzvendra Chahal was the ace spinner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowling attack. And he proved it by delivering a crucial spell against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2019.
MI were batting first on a batting paradise at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, and their top order was on a roll. MI’s openers provided a quick start, but then Chahal drew the first blood by dismissing Quinton de Kock after the powerplay overs.
Chahal had bowled 2 brilliant overs and conceded only a single boundary until he came to bowl in the 13th over. Veteran Yuvraj Singh smacked him for 3 sixes in a row, threatening to take him down. However, Chahal had the last laugh as he sent Yuvraj back to the dugout on the next delivery.
Then, in his last over, the leggie got 2 big wickets of Kieron Pollard and Suryakumar Yadav to finish with the figures of 4 for 38. However, his effort went in vain as RCB lost the match by 6 runs.
4/17 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2023
Donning the pink and blue colours of the Rajasthan Royals, Yuzi Chahal produced a stunning bowling performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2023.
The Royals were touring in Hyderabad and posted 203 runs on the board. While chasing the huge target, SRH were already 2 down in the first over and were looking to recover from the setbacks.
But, as soon as the powerplay got over, Chahal strangled the hosts with another wicket. He clean bowled Harry Brook on the last ball of the 7th over.
The leg spinner continued his momentum in the 11th over and got Mayank Agarwal caught out on the last ball. He came back in the 14th over and got Adil Rashid stumped out, again on the last delivery of the over.
And then Chahal ended his spell by scalping Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s wicket to make it 4 wickets. In this 4 overs spell, Chahal didn’t concede a single boundary to return with an economy rate of 4.25!
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3/11 vs Mumbai Indians | 2021
The match against MI saw RCB’s batters put up a challenging total on the board. MI were off to a good start while chasing 166 runs.
Mumbai’s openers were looking to run away with the match. But then Chahal sneaked in after the powerplay and gave RCB its first breakthrough by dismissing Quinton de Kock.
Chahal then sent Ishan Kishan packing, which opened the floodgates for RCB’s bowling attack. Mumbai went from 81 for 3 to 111 for 8!
The leggie then got his third wicket as he clean-bowled Jasprit Bumrah to wrap up with the figures of 3 for 11. His bowling performance turned the match in RCB’s favour, helping his side win by 54 runs.
4/25 vs Kings XI Punjab | 2016
The Kings XI Punjab were humiliated by 2 terrific performances from RCB players. First by Virat Kohli, who hammered his 4th century of the 2016 season, and second by Chahal, who produced a sensational bowling performance.
Speaking of Chahal’s bowling effort, he spun a web around Punjab batters and helped RCB win comfortably.
However, he had a rough start to his 3-over spell as Wriddhiman Saha smashed him for 3 consecutive fours. But Chahal made a quick comeback and got Saha LBW on the next delivery to get his first scalp.
In this second over, Chahal sent 2 batters back to the pavilion on golden ducks to reduce Punjab to 80 for 7. He wrapped up his spell with Gurkeerat Singh’s wicket to register the match figures of 4 for 25.
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5/40 vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 2022
This was a rollercoaster of a match for Yuzvendra Chahal, as he initially got thrashing from batters but then ended up with a fifer and a hat-trick.
Rajasthan set a mammoth target of 218 runs for Kolkata, but KKR were off to a wonderful start. KKR’s Skipper, Shreyas Iyer, and Aaron Finch were on a mission to take the team home.
In the meantime, Chahal got hammered by KKR batters until he secured his first wicket at the end of his third over. Till then, he conceded 38 runs, and KKR were on their way to crush the target.
Chahal came back to wrap up his spell in the 17th over and turned the match on its head. On the first delivery, he beat Venkatesh Iyer with his googly and got him stumped to claim his second wicket.
Then, on the fourth ball, Chahal got rid of the big fish, Shreyas Iyer, who was batting on 85 runs. In the next 2 balls, the leggie dismissed Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins to clinch his maiden hat-trick and five-wicket haul.
After that, Chahal celebrated it with his trademark pose, sending the crowd into a frenzy. His extraordinary bowling effort of 5 for 40 secured a 7-run win for RR.
