Returning to the eleven of Team India in T20Is, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t take long to strike, as he gave India their first breakthrough in the form of the dangerous Finn Allen in the second T20I against New Zealand in Lucknow on Sunday.
Chahal, who had been benched from the first T20I in Ranchi, was recalled to the side, replacing Umran Malik, as India felt they needed an extra spin option on what looked a tacky surface right from the start of the evening.
In the first T20I, Finn Allen had smashed 35 runs off 23 balls, and had given New Zealand a head start on their way to a 21-run victory. In the second T20I, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, too, Allen had cracked a couple of boundaries.
But on a pitch in Lucknow which showed as much help for the spinners as it had done in Ranchi, a failed reverse-sweep attempt against Chahal cost Allen his wicket as the ball went through the gap and clattered the timber.
Chahal troubled left-hander and new batsman Mark Chapman too, bowling three straight dots, following from three straight dots to Allen, and consequently, completed a wicket-maiden over on his return to the XI.
Yuzvendra Chahal is now India’s leading T20I wicket-taker
With the dismissal of Finn Allen, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal became India’s leading T20I wicket-taker with 91 wickets to his name in 75 T20Is. Chahal went past Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had taken 90 wickets in 87 T20Is. 3rd and 4th on the list are R Ashwin with 72 wickets and Jasprit Bumrah with 70 wickets respectively.
It is still surprising to many that Chahal, now India’s leading T20I wicket-taker, hasn’t featured in a single game in the last two T20 World Cups.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner
