India vs New Zealand: Yuzvendra Chahal’s ability to strike in tense situations makes him Virat Kohli’s go-to man

In recent times, there has been a lot of talk around the number four conundrum of India’s limited-overs line-up. The constant spotlight on India’s batting order ensured that a few things went completely unnoticed. One such aspect has been the steady rise of the Haryana leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in India’s scheme of things, ahead of the talented Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. Chahal’s vital spells in the past few matches have made him skipper Virat Kohli’s go-to man in tense situations. The wrist-spinning duo of Kuldeep and Chahal are India’s preferred spin-bowling choices in limited-overs formats, ahead of the seasoned pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. However, Kuldeep seems to have somewhat lost the plot as he has been guilty of bowling some expensive spells without showing much consistency and accuracy. [caption id=“attachment_4189123” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates after he dismissed New Zealand’s Martin Guptill in their first T20I. AFP[/caption] Statistically, there is not much to separate Kuldeep and Chahal. While the former averages 26.47 at an economy rate of 4.94 with 19 wickets to his name in 12 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), the latter averages 27.19 at a better economy rate of 4.56 and 21 scalps to his name in 14 matches. However, it has been the recent series against Australia and New Zealand that have revealed the better bowler among the two. Kuldeep did have his moments, like the hat-trick against Australia in the second ODI of the series at the iconic Eden Gardens. He was picking wickets regularly but was leaking runs as well—like his spell against Australia in Indore or against New Zealand in Mumbai. The result was the inclusion of Axar Patel in his place from the second ODI onwards against New Zealand. Chahal, on the other hand, has seized the opportunity with some crucial match-winning contributions. While the competition for the second spinner’s spot continues between Axar and Kuldeep, Chahal has secured his place in the team with some impressive performances. His contribution in the series-decider against New Zealand in Kanpur didn’t get much attention. However, the victory wouldn’t have been possible without Chahal as he turned the course of the match in India’s favour with the wickets of Colin Munro and Kane Williamson. He broke their 109-run stand, dismissing Munro who was at his best with the willow on that day. He had produced something similar in the previous match as well. Colin de Grandhomme was batting well on 41 and was in the hunt for some quick runs. Chahal tricked him with a wide and flighted delivery outside the off-stump and Grandhomme edged it to Jasprit Bumrah at short third-man. He also accounted for Adam Milne on the very next delivery as he trapped him lbw with a slider. His returns of 2/36 in eight overs were absolutely amazing for someone entitled with checking the run flow along with picking up wickets during the middle overs. Moreover, it was his spell of 2/34 in 10 overs against Australia in Kolkata that had set the tone for Kuldeep’s hat-trick. Kuldeep justifiably earned the applause for his feat, but it was Chahal who had broken the back of the Australian middle-order, castling Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell. With all these performances, he seems to be fulfilling the expectations of Kohli who is also the skipper of Royal Challengers Bangalore, the franchise Chahal plays for in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The immense faith that the Indian skipper has in the 27-year-old leggie was evident in the ODI against Australia in Chennai. The Australian innings was reduced to 21 overs due to rain and only one bowler could bowl an extra over along with the regular four overs of a T20I game. Kohli placed his faith in the wily leggie, who responded with figures of 3/30 in his five overs. Mind games Chahal relishes in playing mind games. He watches the batsmen right till the end and makes his moves late to outwit him. It seems like he has his every move planned and even if one trick fails, he invariably has another ready. Of course, his background in chess helps him in outwitting the batsmen on the cricket field a lot. “Chess helps me in plotting the opposition batsman’s dismissal. I try to be one step ahead of the batsman, especially in T20 where the bowler has to think on his feet. When the batsman is going hard, I try to remain calm. My chess training helps me in staying focused with the job in hand,” said Chahal, who was also the U-12 National Chess Champion once, in an interview with TOI. His latest spell in the first T20I against New Zealand on a flat-track at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi was a perfect instance of how he applies his chess skills in cricket. He came on to bowl in the second over of the Kiwi innings and accounted for Martin Guptill with a well flighted delivery in his first over. That was an example of his planned move against Guptill who has a weakness against the spinners. Later, he foxed Tom Latham who is, arguably, the best player of spin in the Kiwi batting line-up. Latham danced down the track but Chahal shortened his length and beat the batsman outside the off-stump. The result was yet another simple stumping for MS Dhoni. That showed how good he is with his intuition and presence of mind. These abilities help Chahal to remain one step ahead of the batsmen and have made him Kohli’s go-to-man in the most adverse situations — someone on whom the skipper can count on and who has the potential to bail the team out of trouble.