Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has called Yuzvendra Chahal "one of the best bowlers" in the Indian Premier League and said he has asked the seasoned leg-spinner to always look for wickets instead of worrying over leaking runs during a "personal chat." (Highlights | Schedule | Full Coverage)
After a subdued start to the this edition of the T20 tournament, the Punjab Kings spinner has found his rhythm and took the wickets of Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma in PKBS' five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
"Personally I had a chat with Chahal. I told him you are a match winner and you need to get us wickets as much as possible. You don't need to be safe in your approach and he has got the capability of bouncing back. That's what we appreciate of him as a leggie," Iyer said.
"He is one of the best bowlers in the IPL, probably the best bowler in the IPL so far. You need to back that all the time," he said after the win over RCB.
Punjab Kings produced an inch-perfect bowling effort to restrict RCB to 95 for nine in a rain-curtailed 14 overs-a-side match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
In reply, PBKS competed the chase in 12.1 overs with Nehal Wadhera making a match-winning 19-ball 33.
The Player of the Match award, however, went to RCB's Tim David who proved to be their lone-ranger in an otherwise forgettable batting display, with a blazing 50 off 26 balls.
"As they say variety is the spice of life. We are able to experience all kinds of games over here. It is a great challenge," Iyer said.
"There was no thinking to be honest. I was making instinctive moves and obviously we were getting wickets. I didn't want the new batsman to come in and settle straightaway," the skipper said of his decisions on the field.
Asked to bat first, RCB lost wickets at regular intervals with the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Chahal, Marco Jansen and Harpreet Brar doing the bulk of the damage for the visiting team.
"Marco was able to extract little bit of bounce on this wicket. He was bowling lethal. He basically steadied the ship. And the rest of the bowlers they helped him.
"To be honest, we didn't know how the wicket was going to play and I personally feel the bowlers they adapted according to it," Iyer said.
"When I had a chat with Arshdeep, he said, the hard length balls were very difficult to hit on this wicket because I didn't see a single six off a fast bowler hit down the ground. That was the chatter going around and they were fantastic in executing it."
On expected lines, Iyer lavished praise on Wadhera for his attacking knock.
"Yes absolutely, you need one batsman to take the charge. Nehal was brilliant in his approach today. The attitude was top notch. I hope he continues the same form."
Could have done better as batting unit: Patidar
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar acknowledged that his batters left a lot to be desired, especially those slotted in the middle-order as the pitch eased up a bit in the second half of their innings.
"Initially it was sticking and two paced, but we could have done far better as a batting unit. Partnerships are important, we have lost wickets in quick intervals and that's a big lesson for us," Patidar said.
Asked about leaving out Devdutt Paddikal from the playing XI, he said the decision was made taking into account the conditions.
"We've had to make that change due to conditions. The wicket wasn't that bad, it was under covers for a long time, it helped their bowlers, credit goes to them. No matter how the wicket plays, we need to bat well and get a winning total.
"The bowling unit is doing pretty well, that's a big positive. The batters have played with intent, that's something pleasing. We can correct some of our mistakes in the batting unit," Patidar said.
