Watch: Yuzvendra Chahal bowled one of the best balls of IPL 2021 so far, ripping a leg-break from just outside leg-stump into Sarfaraz Khan’s off-stump in a manner reminiscent of Shane Warne in his pomp.
Sarfaraz was playing his first game since March, and came in at a pivotal moment, with half-centurion Mayank Agarwal just dismissed and Punjab Kings needing more than 10 runs per over. He could hardly have feared a more difficult first ball, with Chahal ripping his stock ball to extraordinary effect.
The hard-spun leg-break drifted to just outside leg-stump, before pitching, gripping and turning sharply. Sarfaraz attempted to play into the leg-side, but his grope forward was comprehensively beaten, with the youngster turning back in bemusement after his off-stump was removed from its groove.
Chahal wheeled away while the cameras cut to KL Rahul in the dug-out, the PBKS captain perhaps regretting a last-minute decision to send out Sarfaraz. Having been in the driving seat after a 91-run opening stand, his side slid to 158-6 from 20 overs, falling seven runs short in their pursuit of 165 to win. The result is a major dent to PBKS’ hopes of making the top four, and confirmed RCB’s place in the playoffs.
Chahal has come into the second leg having to deal with the disappointment of being left out of India’s T20 World Cup squad. More performances like this could be enough to make India rethink their decision.
