The little man pats the big guns. He doesn’t even use heavy weapons. He kills them softly.
Seeing him at work, you are reminded of Muhammad Ali’s song, “He swims like a butterfly and stings like a bee.”
When Yuzvendra Chahal throws the ball up, he does the same. The revs on the ball cause it to either dip or drift.
The batsman, whose eyes light up on the flighty delivery and who lines up for a big hit, is put to shame as he never reaches the ball.
The resulting catch is swallowed. Chahal is the biggest player in his team.
attacking bowler
He is an aggressive bowler who is always looking for wickets. And he lures the batsmen to their doom.
Chahal’s three for 20 in the crucial third T20I here on Tuesday night was a masterclass in the art of leg-spin.
He’s a magician, a wrist-spinner with a bag of tricks. Chahal has a good faux ‘un, an effective flipper and an easy top spinner to go with his powerful leg spinners. Importantly, he has control.
Bowling with rhythm and easy action, Chahal devoured the dangerous Dwayne Pretorius, whose dub shot came to nothing as the ball swung a little farther and caught ‘keeper Rishabh Pant’s glove.
Rassie van der Dussen also succumbed to a leg-spinner with a drift. He attempted to strike the circular square but only managed to nick the ball.
One of Chahal’s tricks when the opposition batsman is going for runs, is to throw the field wide. And for this reaches the batter. But then, there is drift and fall in these deliveries. The batsman always ends the stroke wrong.
As with Heinrich Klaasen, who was desperate for a big hit, he chased full length and chased down the leg-spinner only to pierce the hole at extra-cover.
The out rounded out the perfect night for Chahal. But then, hasn’t he made a habit of being a game-changer?
In the shorter versions of the game, there is no better bowler for India than Chahal. In 61 ODIs, he has taken 104 wickets at an economy rate of 5.17. And in T20Is, Chahal has taken 72 wickets at 8.23 in 57 matches.
It is difficult to gauge how he bowls. He may one day be a clingy, slippery customer. Chahal can also get the ball to bounce with the help of the seam.
His IPL was great for Rajasthan Royals this season. 31-year-old Chahal won the Purple Cap with the highest 27 wickets in the competition.
He can bowl and bowl under heavy pressure. He is mentally tough and consistent.
Chahal is a charming, cheerful man with a knack for the wickets.