Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal revealed captain Hardik Pandya gave him the liberty to bowl the way he wanted to bowl in the first T20I against Ireland at the Village, Dublin on Sunday. Chahal was at his absolute best against the hosts as he returned with impressive figures of 1-11 in his quota of three overs.
The leg-spinner conceded his runs at an economy rate of 3.70 in a 12 overs/side game as he didn’t give anything away to the Irish batters in the rain-curtailed match. In fact, except for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal, all the other Indian bowlers conceded their runs at an economy rate of more than 10.
Chahal accounted for Lorcan Tucker, who scored 18 runs and had added 50 runs for the fourth wicket with Harry Tector. The Irish batters could not pick Chahal and he was able to keep them at bay. Thus, the leg-spinner played a key role in restricting the home side to 108 runs in 12 overs. Chahal was awarded the Player of the Match for his fine bowling rendition.
The leg-spinner said in the post-match presentation, “Very difficult (in these cold conditions). I felt like a finger spinner today (smiles). Sometimes it’s hard but you have to adapt to every condition. He (Hardik) gave liberty to bowl whatever I want to bowl. The atmosphere is pretty chilled. No, I’m not okay I’m wearing three sweaters right now.”
On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is known to swing the ball, enjoyed bowling in overcast conditions. Kumar dismissed Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie with a fine inswinger and conceded 16 runs in his three overs.
Kumar said after the game, “Yes I did enjoy bowling. There was a bit of swing with the new ball. It was much better to bat after 4-5 overs. Doesn’t matter what format it is, if you get these kind of wickets it is always good to bowl Test match line and length. Umran made his debut, few more yet to make, so we have a lot of exciting talent. This is the kind of format which produces many cricketers. Best part about our team is wherever we go people come out to support us.”
India will look to continue the good show in the second T20I against Ireland, which will take place at the same venue on Tuesday.
