3 Rahul Chahar spells that show he can be an all-format success for India
Indian cricket has never been short on spin bowling resources and Rahul Chahar is one of them with his wily leg-spin option.
He is not like the old-school leg spinners, who depend more on flight, inviting batters to come down the track. He is one of the modern leg spinners who looks to control the run flow, add pressure, and pick up wickets.
Rahul Chahar was regarded as India’s next big thing in wrist spin in the initial stages of his career, but sadly, he failed to cement his position in the Indian squad. He has donned the Indian jersey just seven times and couldn't prove his mettle on the international stage since making his debut in 2019.
It's not that he was awful with the chances he got, but his inconsistency and lack of control in his bowling didn't inspire any confidence in the selectors or management.
In this article, we will look at three of Rahul Chahar's bowling performances that will definitely give us an idea that he belongs to international cricket and that too in all three formats.
#3 3/19 against Delhi Capitals, Arun Jaitley Stadium, 2019
It was the sluggish Kotla wicket that was gripping and holding the surface, and that made Rahul Chahar absolutely unplayable against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2019.
Chasing a stiff target of 169 on that surface, thanks to some late blitzing from Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya for the Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi were off to a good start.
Knowing Prithvi Shaw's struggle against leg spin, MI skipper Rohit Sharma handed the very first over to Chahar, who tested him with his variations and kept him silent.
Knowing that Shaw was under pressure, Chahar gave air to the ball and pulls his length back, which the batter skipped to long-on. He deceived Shikhar Dhawan and knocked him over with his googly.
But it was DC skipper Shreyas Iyer whose wicket was something special. The ball drifted after it pitched on the leg stump, brought Iyer forward, and beat him on the dip and outside edge to hit the off stump. Chahar finished with 3/19, helping Mumbai secure a mammoth 40-run victory.
#2 3/15 against Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2021
Although this spell came in a losing cause, it did establish the fact that Rahul Chahar belongs to the highest level.
With Wanindu Hasaranga wrecking havoc on a depleted Indian batting line-up that only managed to score 81/8 in their stipulated 20 overs, it was onto the bowlers to reply in a similar fashion.
However, besides Chahar, no bowler managed to create any sort of pressure on Sri Lankan batters. The leg-spinner from Rajasthan mixed his lengths and speed, keeping it wicket to wicket, which kept the batters in check.
#1 4/27 against Kolkata Knight Riders, Chepauk, 2021
On a tough Chepauk surface that was a bit slower, the Mumbai Indians managed to put up 153 runs on the board in the stipulated 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav starred with the bat, scoring a half-century at a strike rate of over 150.
Chasing a stiff total, openers Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill got the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) off to a flying start. It looked like KKR would go on to win with one or two overs to spare.
Right when it felt like Kolkata was running away with the game, Rohit handed the ball to Rahul Chahar, who absolutely bamboozled the batters to shift the momentum. He dismissed Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, and Nitish Rana to demolish Kolkata’s batting unit.
The Knight Riders eventually fell 10 runs short of the target, and Chahar was named Player of the Match for his outstanding figures of 4/27.