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Took Lot Of Confidence From My Showing Against KKR: Yuzvendra Chahal
Follow UsChahal followed up his 4-fer against KKR with yet another solid showing against RCB
On the back of being bought for a whopping 18 crore by Punjab Kings, Yuzvendra Chahal had a horror start to IPL 2025, taking just two wickets across the season's first five games. The leg-spinner looked out of sorts and out of rhythm, to the extent that his place in the Kings’ starting XI was not looking too secure.
However, with his and his side’s back against the wall, the 34-year-old bounced back in extraordinary fashion against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mullanpur, helping Punjab pull off the lowest total defence in IPL history by picking a four-fer.
Chahal followed up the KKR performance with yet another solid showing against his former side, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2/11) on April 18 (Friday), well and truly signalling that he’s back in form.
“I’ve definitely taken a lot of confidence from my showing in the previous clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR),” Chahal said after the RCB clash, in a conversation with teammate Arshdeep Singh.
Chinnaswamy has historically been a spinner’s graveyard, and on the night, all spinners except Chahal conceded a total of 60 across the six overs they bowled. However, against RCB, the leggie bowled three overs and conceded just 11 runs while taking two wickets.
He credited his understanding of the surface for his success.
“I’ve played a lot here. So I have a fair idea of what works and what doesn’t,” Chahal said.
“It’s a ground where, as a spinner, you don’t get hit for a lot of fours but you end up conceding a lot of sixes. So I always focus on how I can vary the lines to upset and outsmart the batters.”
With the win against RCB, Punjab made it five wins in seven games and are in pole position for a top-two finish. Chahal insisted that it would be imperative for the side to finish in the first two positions to give themselves the best chance of going all the way.
“It’s crucial to do well in the first half of a long tournament like the IPL. If you can get to 10 points [in the first half] then you have a shot at the top two. It’s a long tournament, and anything can happen at any point in time. So it’s really beneficial if you can somehow finish in the top two.”