IPL 2020: 'Yuzvendra Chahal showed how he can get purchase on any surface,' says Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has heaped praise on leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for his three-wicket burst in his side's win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2020, stating that the latter showed he did not need a turning pitch to turn the ball.

Sunrisers Hyderabad were cruising to victory, requiring just 43 runs from the last 5 overs with 8 wickets in hand, with Jonny Bairstow going all guns blazing at one end.

However, Virat Kohli played his trump card Yuzvendra Chahal in the 16th over, and the decision worked wonders as the latter cleaned up both Bairstow and Vijay Shankar off consecutive deliveries. These twin strikes triggered a colossal SRH batting collapse as they lost 8 wickets for just 32 runs, handing RCB a win by 10 runs.

Yuzvendra Chahal was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant figures of 3-18 off 4 overs.

Addressing Yuzvendra Chahal's performance, Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony:

“Yuzi (Chahal) comes in and completely changed the game for us. Not many spinners got much out of the pitch, but tonight he showed that you can turn it if you have it in your wrists. He showed he can get purchase on any wicket. The way he came in and bowled attacking lines, he changed the game.”

The fact that we didn’t let negativity slip into the bowling group was a great sign: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was extremely happy with his bowlers' performance and praised them for not letting any negativity get to them

In the past, RCB had often been criticised for their inability to defend totals and for leaking runs towards the backend of an innings. Virat Kohli addressed the same, stating that he was extremely satisfied with his bowlers for not letting negativity take over. He said:

“In the past if we had 43 off 5, you’d see the shoulders dropping but the guys kept believing, kept attacking. Someone like Washy not bowling enough and a part-timer doing it are good signs. The fact that we didn’t let negativity slip into the bowling group was a great sign.”

RCB will next face Kings XI Punjab on 24th September at Dubai.

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