Shreyas Iyer's Conversation That Changed Chahal's IPL 2025 Prospects: 'Take Risks, I Advised Him...'
14 days ago | 5 Views
Yuzvendra Chahal is demonstrating remarkable progress in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Following a sluggish beginning to the 18th edition of the T20 tournament, the spinner for Punjab Kings has regained his form and is effectively utilizing his skills. In a match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Chahal claimed two wickets, dismissing Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma. Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has since shared insights from his conversation with Chahal after the spinner's initial struggles in the tournament.
Chahal's early performances in the first five matches were disappointing, as he adopted a defensive bowling strategy aimed at maintaining economy. However, he excelled against the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, where he took four wickets, aiding PBKS in achieving a historic feat by defending the lowest total (111) in IPL history.
The 34-year-old followed up this impressive display with figures of 2/11 in 3 overs against RCB, contributing to Punjab Kings limiting RCB to 95/9 in 14 overs. Following the victory over RCB, Shreyas Iyer disclosed that he encouraged Chahal to trust in his abilities and to adopt a more aggressive approach rather than playing it safe.
"I personally spoke with Chahal, emphasizing that he is a match-winner and needs to focus on taking wickets. He shouldn't feel the need to play it safe, as he has the talent to make a strong comeback," Shreyas stated to the host broadcaster after Punjab's five-wicket triumph.
"We value his skills as a leg-spinner. He is arguably the best bowler in the IPL thus far," he added.
PBKS go to second spot in the points table
Punjab Kings have ascended to the second position in the IPL standings following their five-wicket victory over RCB in a match affected by rain. Nehal Wadhera contributed significantly with an unbeaten 33 runs off 19 deliveries, including 3 fours and 3 sixes, enabling PBKS to successfully chase down a target of 96 runs with five wickets remaining and 11 balls to spare. This defeat marked RCB's third consecutive loss at home in IPL 2025.
Earlier in the match, PBKS captain Shreyas won the toss and chose to bowl first. RCB struggled with their batting, losing wickets consistently, and found themselves in a precarious position at 42/7 by the ninth over. Tim David, however, played a crucial innings, scoring an unbeaten 50 runs off 26 balls, which helped the team recover and set a total of 95 runs. Ultimately, this score proved insufficient. For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Chahal, and Harpreet Brar each claimed two wickets.
"I was making instinctive decisions, and we were consistently taking wickets. I wanted to prevent the new batsman from settling in quickly. Marco Jansen was able to generate some bounce on this pitch and bowled exceptionally well, effectively stabilizing our bowling attack. The other bowlers supported him well. To be honest, we were uncertain about how the pitch would behave, but I believe the bowlers adapted effectively," stated Shreyas Iyer.
"In my discussion with Arshdeep, he mentioned that hitting hard length balls was particularly challenging on this wicket, as I did not observe a single six being struck off a fast bowler down the ground. That was the consensus among the players, and they executed their plans brilliantly," he added.
RCB and Punjab Kings are set to meet again on Sunday, April 20, in New Chandigarh.
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