‘I tried to bowl to my strength’ – Yuzvendra Chahal after his match-winning performance in the third T20I against South Africa

Yuzvendra Chahal, who had a stellar campaign in IPL 2022 that eventually saw him winning the Purple Cap, was under the pumps in the first two T20Is against South Africa. He managed to pick up just one wicket but ended up conceding plenty of runs that allowed the Proteas to control the match in the middle overs and secure victories.

However, not one to be fazed by the challenge, he made a wonderful comeback in the very next match. Chahal picked up three wickets and also gave away just 20 runs in his four overs in the third T20I against South Africa. Given the fact that he had conceded over 10 runs an over in both the previous matches, this was a dramatic improvement.

The 31-year-old also got the better of South African batsmen Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen and even Heinrich Klaasen, who was the hero for them in the previous T20I. This allowed India to restrict the South African run-chase and they ended up winning the match comfortably by 48 runs.

Pointing out what changes he made to his game that helped him exert a much bigger influence on this match, Yuzvendra Chahal said, “I bowled a lot of sliders and bowled quicker in the previous matches. Today, I changed my seam position. Spinning and getting the ball to dip are my strengths. Today, I tried to get it to turn and bowl slower.

“I tried to bowl to my strengths, I focused on that. When batters try to reverse-sweep, it becomes tough for the bowlers. But now, I have a second plan and set fields accordingly,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The veteran leg spinner had received criticism from several quarters for failing to back his strengths and giving away too many runs in the opening couple of matches. His form wasn’t in the question, given that he recently finished the IPL campaign as the highest wicket-taker. How he executed his ideas on the pitch ended up making the difference.

After the game, Chahal also revealed that he received plenty of support from the team management. “I didn’t bowl well in the previous games and the coaches just told me to back my strengths.”