Best Bowling Performances of Deepak Chahar in IPL
A couple of years ago, a certain Chahar was making the headlines. With batsmen failing to pick the mystery spinner up, teams were circling around him like sharks to get his signature. Two years down the line, that spinner, Rahul Chahar hasn’t made as a big a name for himself as he would have ideally wanted to. But his brother, Deepak Chahar, has established himself as one of the most reliable Indian pacers in the Indian Premier League.
While Rahul bagged a lucrative INR 1.9 crores contract from Mumbai Indians in 2018, Deepak Chahar was sold to Chennai Super Kings for just INR 80 lakhs. Not many would have expected to play regularly for the yellow army, but now he finds donning both CSK’s yellow and India’s blue. With his economical bowling and wicket-taking ability, Chahar has gifted CSK loyalists many brilliant spells so far.
Best Bowling Performances of Deepak Chahar in IPL
Let us have a look at five of his best bowling performances of Deepak Chahar:
5. 2/25 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
One very dominant feature of this listicle will be Chahar’s commendable economy rate. In a tournament that particularly overwhelmingly harsh to the pacers, Chahar has maintained an economy rate of just over 7 runs per over in the last two seasons.
The match against Royal Challengers Bangalore last year was one such occurrence where Chahar’s economical spell helped CSK restrict Virat Kohli‘s men to just 161. In addition to that, he also picked up two crucial wickets in the form of opposition skipper Virat Kohli, and pinch-hitter Pawan Negi.
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4. 2/19 vs Rajasthan Royals
If conceding just 26 runs from 4 overs was impressive, conceding 19 runs from as many overs is miserly bowling at its finest. Batting first against the Royals, Chennai managed to put up a target of 176. Royals were on the back-foot from the get-go as Chahar dismissed both Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson inside the third over.
But his job was far from over. Despite losing early wickets, a fightback from Englishmen Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes brought Rajasthan back to the driver’s seat. Mahendra Singh Dhoni re-introduced Chahar into the bowling attack to stop the flow of runs, and he did just that. Royals ultimately ended up losing the game by just 8 runs.
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3. 3/26 vs Mumbai Indians
Though Chennai Super Kings lost the 2019 IPL final against Mumbai Indians, Deepak Chahar could afford to lift his head high after the game. The pacer was brilliant at the match where everything was at stake. His amazing spell of 3/26 helped CSK restrict Mumbai to a low total of only 149.
Chahar dismissed Mumbai’s skipper Rohit Sharma early on in the innings to nullify the threat of a good start. He later dismissed explosive all-rounder to prevent a late blitzkrieg. He picked up another wicket in the same over to complete his 3-wicket haul. This time, the victim was particularly interesting – it was his brother Rahul Chahar.
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2. 3/20 vs Kolkata Knight Riders
The match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens was one of the best bowling displays by CSK last season. They managed to restrict the likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine to just 108. The entire CSK bowling unit performed beyond expectations, and Chahar spearheaded the attack.
He smelt blood very early on after he caught Chris Lynn leg before wicket in the very first over. In his very next over, he got the better of both Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana, to give the KKR batting unit and killer blow. He completed his brilliant spell by maintaining an economy rate that is uncharacteristic in the T20 format of the game.
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1. 3/15 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
The previous few mentions might lead you to believe that Chahar’s economical spells have come in matches where neither team managed to put up a fighting total. But the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad is enough to debunk that theory. In a match where the average score per innings was 180, Chahar maintained an astonishing economy rate of 3.75 runs per over.
Batting first, CSK scored a fighting 182. All that Hyderabad needed to bounce back in the game was a good start, but Chahar ensured that they got the exact opposite. He got the wicket of opener Ricky Bhui in the first over. In his second over, he got the better of Manish Pandey. To continue his streak, he picked up the wicket of Deepak Hooda in his third over. Though the fourth over did not bear any wicket, he managed to leak as few runs as possible. In this list, this is the Best Bowling Performances of Deepak Chahar in IPL so far.
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