The Royal Challengers Bangalore factor was unmistakable in India’s thumping 75-run win in the third T20I against England on Wednesday as India captain Virat Kohli said Yuzvendra Chahal’s familiarity with the Chinnaswamy Stadium did the trick for them. (HIGHLIGHTS)
“Having two leg-spinners on a dry wicket, we always knew we would get a few chances. Mishy (Amit Mishra) started it, and then Chahal took five wickets in two overs,” said Kohli, who leads Chahal in the IPL, at the post-match presentation. “He (Chahal) knows these conditions, he knows how to bowl here. I have a lot of faith in him, and he plays with a lot of confidence. He has a lot of skill and he has the character as well,” said Kohli.
Chahal, who took 6/25 on Wednesday, has had a few memorable moments in Bangalore while playing in the IPL last season but this was a special performance. “It felt good because I’m playing an India match in Bangalore for the first time,” Chahal said.
“It always feels like home. I’ve bowled in the Powerplay before in the IPL, and Virat has confidence in me that I can do that. Even Dhoni used to tell me what the batsman is going to play. At the start, I planned that batsmen will want to go for their shots because it’s a small ground, so I have a chance for wickets. I bowl a fuller length, so I have a chance for lbws if they miss the sweep and reverse-sweep. But I never dreamed I would get six wickets,” said Chahal.
{{/usCountry}}“It always feels like home. I’ve bowled in the Powerplay before in the IPL, and Virat has confidence in me that I can do that. Even Dhoni used to tell me what the batsman is going to play. At the start, I planned that batsmen will want to go for their shots because it’s a small ground, so I have a chance for wickets. I bowl a fuller length, so I have a chance for lbws if they miss the sweep and reverse-sweep. But I never dreamed I would get six wickets,” said Chahal.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli too said returning to Bangalore demanded a special performance. “Coming back here after a while, a long time since we played the IPL final here. The occasion demanded us to be at our very best. We lost all three tosses, similar to the Test series as well, and we’ve won all three series,” he said.
Still new to captaincy in the shorter formats, Kohli said he is taking advice from all the seniors. “It’s not a bad thing when you have MS Dhoni behind the stumps and experienced guys like Ashu bhai (Ashish Nehra) and Yuvi pa (Yuvraj Singh). I’m taking advice from them whenever possible, they’re so intelligent, a lot of credit goes to them,” he said.
This match was also memorable for Dhoni who scored his first T20I fifty. “I wanted to send (Dhoni) up the order but he was the one who said he will come in later as that will give the team better balance,” said Kohli. “Come the big game, even in the one-day series decider, he stepped up. And he stepped up again today. It’s a memorable series win for us, the whole tour. It’s been a brilliant couple of months for the Indian team and going forward we know exactly what to do in each format,” he said.