5 most expensive Yuzvendra Chahal spells in the IPL ft. 2024 vs SRH
Rajasthan Royals (RR) spinner Yuzvendra Chahal became the first bowler to scale the 200-wicket mark in the IPL during the encounter against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Jaipur on April 22.
However, the 33-year-old has been in woeful form since reaching the landmark, with no wickets in the next two innings. Chahal has also endured an expensive season with the ball by his usually high standards.
The leggie has conceded runs at an economy rate of 9.68 despite picking up 13 wickets in 10 outings. While his overall IPL record of being the leading wicket-taker remains sensational, recent form paints a worrying picture.
With the 2024 T20 World Cup starting right after the IPL, Chahal will look to regroup and get back to his wicket-taking ways.
On that note, let us look at Yuzvendra Chahal's five most expensive spells in the IPL.
# 1 2024 vs SRH
Yuzvendra Chahal had a forgettable outing with the ball in RR's ongoing clash against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad.
Coming off a dismal outing with figures of 0/41 in the side's previous outing against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the veteran spinner was shown no respect by the SRH batters.
After a quiet 7-run first over, Chahal conceded 18 off his second over, thanks to some belligerent hitting by Travis Head. However, the worst was yet to come as the RR spinner got carted by Nitish Reddy and gave away a 21-run third over.
Heinrich Klaasen provided the finishing touches as he smashed back-to-back sixes off the first two deliveries of Chahal's final over. The champion spinner concluded a miserable bowling spell with his most expensive IPL figures of 0/62 in 4 overs.
# 2 2024 vs KKR
IPL 2024 has been the ultimate graveyard for the bowlers with teams posting several record-breaking scores. Thus, Yuzvendra Chahal's two most expensive IPL figures coming this season are evidence of the same.
While the leg-spinner picked up his 199th IPL wicket in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clash with the dismissal of Shreyas Iyer to sit on 1/31 after 3 overs, his final over went for plenty.
Chahal was taken to the cleaners by West Indian Sunil Narine and conceded 23 off his last over to finish with dismal figures of 1/54 in 4 overs.
His bowling played a huge role in KKR posting a massive 223/6 in 20 overs. Fortunately for Chahal, RR responded in style and chased down the monumental target off the final delivery with 2 wickets to spare.
# 3 2015 vs MI
Although RCB's clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium in 2015 is remembered fondly for AB de Villiers' sensational 59-ball 133, it was a horror show for Yuzvendra Chahal with the ball.
After RCB posted a mammoth 235/1 in 20 overs, MI stumbled their way to 97/2 in 11 overs. With defeat seemingly inevitable, the MI batters started taking on Chahal's bowling after he gave away only 5 runs in his opening over.
The leg-spinner conceded 16, 16, and 14 off his next 3 overs to finish with dismal figures of 1/51 in 4 overs. However, the lone silver lining in Chahal's spell was his removal of Hardik Pandya at a crucial time in the run-chase, helping RCB win by 39 runs.
Despite the rare off-game, 2015 was one of Chahal's best seasons in the IPL, finishing with 23 scalps in 15 games.
# 4 2014 vs KKR
Yuzvendra Chahal's coming out party in the IPL was in the 2014 season, when he picked up 12 wickets in 14 matches for RCB.
However, his excellent economy of 7.01 that season was slightly marred by his performance against KKR at Eden Gardens.
The 33-year-old bowled fairly well in his first 3 overs, conceding only 26 runs. Yet, his final over traveled around the park, courtesy of Shakib Al Hasan. The Bangladesh all-rounder smashed Chahal for 3 maximums and a boundary off his final over to propel KKR to 195/4 in 20 overs.
Thanks to the forgettable final over, Chahal finished with figures of 0/50 in 4 overs as RCB eventually suffered a 30-run defeat.
# 5 2023 vs PBKS
Punjab Kings (PBKS) enjoyed one of their rare moments of joy in the RR clash at Guwahati last season.
Batting first, the PBKS batters methodically attacked Yuzvendra Chahal throughout the innings to finish 197/4 in 20 overs. The leggie started with a decent 9-run first over before the floodgates opened up with an 18-run second over.
Another expensive 16-run third over followed to take his figures to 0/43 before an impressive 7-run final over with a wicket resurrected his spell to 1/50 in 4 overs.
However, the damage had already been done as PBKS' final total proved 5 runs too many for RR in the end as they finished on 192/7 in their run-chase.
Despite the poor outing, Chahal enjoyed another successful season, finishing with 21 wickets in 14 games.