Yuzvendra Chahal becomes first bowler to bag 200 wickets in IPL history
Rajasthan Royals (RR)'s Yuzvendra Chahal has become the first-ever bowler to bag 200 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The leg spinner achieved the landmark when he dismissed Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Mohammad Nabi at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday (April 22).
The big achievement came in his first over of the game, the eighth of MI's innings. Chahal bowled a flighted delivery on the middle and leg stump and Nabi went early with his flick shot. The right-hander ended up getting a leading edge and Chahal moved to his left to complete an easy catch. The 33-year-old looked delighted with his 200th wicket in the T20 league.
Chahal has represented three franchises in the tournament's history. The leg-spinner began his career with MI in IPL in 2011. He spent a long time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) from 2014 to 2021 and scalped 139 wickets in 113 matches. He joined RR in 2022 and has scalped 61 wickets for the franchise so far.
Dwayne Bravo and Piyush Chawla are placed second and third in the list with 183 and 181* wickets, respectively. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (174*) and Amit Mishra (173*) complete the top five.
Apart from IPL, Chahal is India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is as well. He has 96 scalps in 79 innings for the Men in Blue. The Haryana-born player also has the most wickets from India in T20s, with 348 wickets in 297 matches so far.
RR dominate MI in IPL 2024 clash
A clinical bowling display helped RR dominate MI after being asked to bowl first in the IPL on Monday.
Trent Boult provided the first breakthrough by dismissing Rohit Sharma before Sandeep Sharma sent back dangerous Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan. Chahal then dismissed Nabi to put RR in pole position.
At the time of writing, the Royals were 120/4 after 14 overs, with Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera at the crease.
Table toppers RR have already beaten seventh-placed MI by six wickets at Wankhede earlier this season. The Sanju Samson-led side recently beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to register their sixth win in seven games. Similarly, MI defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by nine runs to return to winning ways.
Follow the RR vs MI live score and updates here.