Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. With his knack of picking wickets at regular intervals, the leg-spinner has notched up 20 wickets in 14 matches. And, notably, he is currently the lone spin bowler in the top five in the list of most wicket-takers this season.
Former New Zealand batsman Scott Styris reviews the performance of Yuzvendra Chahal this season and explains why he has been so successful even though the league is being hosted in the UAE.
Yuzvendra Chahal changed his bowling strategy – Scott Styris
Former cricketer explains that RCB spinner has changed his tactic to pick wickets from different bowling variations. Styris noticed that Chahal had changed the bowling length according to the condition of the UAE.
“Let’s take a look first and foremost at where Chahal is picking up his wickets in 2020 and the lengths. There’s a lot of them, 12 of them on the fuller side, only five at good length, but let’s look back then, to 2019, where he was so good for RCB that completely flips over as 15 on a good length and only three with the fuller,” Styris said while speaking on Star Sports show Select Dugout.
While adapting well to the conditions, Styris added that Chahal has also worked on his speed.
“Now, that says to me, a couple of things, that fuller length here, in the UAE is the length to bowl. So, because there are different conditions in UAE and India of course and he is balling fuller and therefore, what about the speed, because the speed also becomes crucial on where you are,” he added.
Citing the example of Chahal’s wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, Styris explained that the leg-spinner has been trying to bowl slower in the air and is tossing the ball up more, by which he is inviting the batsmen to drive and thus forcing them to make a mistake.
“…he is trying to toss the ball up more and get the batsman driving, which is why I have watched with interest that last shot from Suryakumar Yadav, where he went over the top of covers for six, because what was it?”
“It was slower and in the middle it was wider, but it was still fuller and you never know, with just a little bit of spin it could just flare up to point or out to deep point,” he added.
Meanwhile, RCB has qualified for playoffs and will play an eliminator match against SunRisers Hyderabad on November 6.