Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar impressed one and all with his bowling during Mumbai Indians’ (MI) 10-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Chepauk on Tuesday (April 13).
Chasing 153 to win, Knight Riders were cruising as the duo of Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana put on 72 runs for the opening wicket. But Chahar changed the course of the game by reducing KKR to 122/4, removing Gill (33), Rana (57), Rahul Tripathi (5) and Eoin Morgan (7) in quick succession.
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After the match, Chahar, who returned with the figures of 4 for 27 in his four overs, credited Rohit Sharma’s backing that brought the best out of him.
"... he (Rohit) told me "bowl with confidence... you're bowling well, sometimes even I'm not able to understand (your variations in the nets). They (KKR batters) would also feel the same way. Just keep your focus, bowl in good length and try to get spin'," Chahar said in the virtual press-conference.
"I knew if there was someone who could be the game changer in such a match, it was the spinners. I always had the confidence."
Chahar, who has represented India in three T20Is so far, said he didn't feel much pressure as he is used to bowling to the top Indian players in the nets.
"I'm used to bowling to the top Indian players in the nets, and when you do that, the pressure is less in a match scenario like this. So there was nothing much going in my mind," he remarked.
"This is my fourth year with MI, I've been bowling to the likes of Pollard, Hardik, considered among the world's best hitters. So I don't feel much pressure."
After Chahar ran through KKR’s top-scorer, Krunal Pandya dismissed Shakib-Al-Hasan.
"We both played well. He (Krunal) also had a good spell, restricting the run flow. We got some help from the wicket," he said.
In the death-overs, Jasprit Bumrah conceded only 12 runs from his last two overs whereas Trent Boult dismissed Andre Russell (9), Pat Cummins (0) and gave away only 4 runs in the final over to restrict KKR to 142/7.
"It was a close match. We always had the belief that (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Trent) Boult would turn the match in the death overs," Chahar concluded.
Mumbai Indians will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their next game on Saturday (April 17).
(With PTI inputs)
