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Yuzvendra Chahal has established himself as one of the most successful spinners in IPL history. The 32-year-old leg-spinner has taken 178 wickets in 139 matches at an average of 21.74, an economy rate of 7.65, and a strike rate of 17.05. He has taken 1 five-wicket haul and 4 four-wicket hauls in his IPL career.
Chahal has taken 12 wickets in eight matches this season for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). However, he had a very successful run with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the period of 2014-22. He has a very impressive record at the Chinnaswamy Stadium - 52 wickets in 41 matches at an economy rate of 7.74.
Ahead of the RR vs RCB clash on Sunday, he talked about the mindset required to succeed on this ground. He returned with figures of 1/28, albeit in a losing cause.
"I think you can bowl with a free mind here. Just give your best and it is not that hard for the bowlers. It's about just enjoying. Self-belief is the key here. You should not worry about the ground being small. It's easy to score runs here and the ball travels a lot, but you should enjoy that challenge."
However, no bowler, howsoever good he is, can succeed every time. Chahal too had some bad days during his RCB days, at their home venue. Here, we look at his three worst spells at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the IPL.
#1 1/45 vs Delhi Daredevils, 2014
RCB were up against the Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in the 38th match of the tournament. Delhi skipper Kevin Pietersen won the toss and elected to field first. RCB posted an impressive first innings total of 186/4, with major contributions from Yuvraj Singh (68* off 29 balls) and AB de Villiers (33 off 17 balls).
In response, Delhi lost two early wickets within the first two overs. Chahal gave allowed some much-needed momentum in the final over of the Powerplay, conceding 10 runs. He followed it up by conceding 11 runs in the 8th over of the chase.
Chahal managed to dismiss a struggling Pietersen (33 off 29 balls) on the final ball of his 3rd over. However, JP Duminy had already hit him for 2 sixes in that over. He failed to close out a good 4th over as Duminy hit him for a six off the last ball, while he had conceded just 3 runs off the first 5 balls. RCB, though, managed to win the match by 16 runs, despite Chahal's tough outing.
#2 2/43 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2016
RCB were asked to bat first by visiting skipper David Warner in their first match of the season. The all-star duo of Virat Kohli (75 off 51 balls) and AB de Villiers (82 off 42 balls) added 157 runs for the 2nd wicket. A cameo from Sarfaraz Khan (35 runs off 10 balls) took the team's total to a highly competitive 227/4 in the first innings against a potent SRH bowling lineup.
Warner came out all guns blazing. Despite the early wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, he kept a positive approach throughout his stay at the crease. He decimated Chahal in the 7th over, hitting two sixes and a four off the wrist spinner.
Chahal dismissed Naman Ojha and Deepak Hooda. However, his spell was fairly expensive and things could have gone the other way had Warner batted till the end of the chase. The Bengaluru-based side did win the game by a comfortable margin of 45 runs in the end.
#3 1/42 vs Gujarat Lions, 2016
The top two teams of the season were up against each other in Qualifier 1 of this season. Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to field first. Iqbal Abdullah and Shane Watson reduced the Lions' batting order to 9/3 in just 3.4 overs, dismissing Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, and Suresh Raina.
Chahal was introduced in the 8th over of the innings. He started off well, conceding just 5 runs in his first over. However, Dwayne Smith took him on in his next over, hitting a six and 2 fours. He went for 16 runs in the over, allowing Gujarat some much-needed momentum.
He conceded eight runs in the next over as Dwayne Smith smashed another six off the final ball of the over. His spell essentially allowed the West Indian batter to cut loose and get the runs on the board.
Chahal was brought back in the 17th over. This time, he managed to get rid of the in-form Smith, who ended up scoring 73. He went for 13 runs in this over as well. RCB eventually won the game on the back of an AB de Villiers masterclass - 79* off 47 balls after the team was tottering at 29/5.
