On this day: Deepak Chahar registers best bowling figures in Men’s T20Is

Deepak Chahar

A medium-pace bowler, Deepak Chahar, marked his debut in the T20 International cricket for India in 2018 against England. Known for his great abilities with the new ball, the medium-pacer is turning out to be a great asset for Men in Blue. He has the credit of becoming the first Indian male cricketer to claim a hat-trick in T20 internationals. In January 2020, he was acknowledged as the T20I performer of the year by the International Cricket Council.

The reason for this honour was his phenomenal bowling performance against Bangladesh in 2019, where he stunned people after knocking out six batsmen by conceding just seven runs. He was named as the man of the match and was also named as the man of the series for his throughout brilliance. During the Bangladesh tour of India in 2019, the final T20I took place in Nagpur, where Chahar etched his mark forever.

Batting first, India posted respectable 174 runs on the board, and half-centuries by KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer became the team’s base. Rahul played a terrific knock of 52 off 35, and Iyer added the cherry on the cake as he smashed 62 runs off 33 balls to get India going. Al-Amin Hossain was the best bowler in ceasing the run from the host team, while Soumya Sarkar named two wickets under his belt to help the Bangladesh team.

While chasing the target, the visitors, under the pressure, were wrapped up on 144 runs. The two wickets in the top order were clinched by Chahar but he started turning lethal in his second spell as he totally dismantled the lower order of the Bangladesh team. He also picked up a hat-trick in the game to send shivers down the Bangladesh batters to end with the magical figures. Apart from his brilliance, Shivam Dube took three wickets for the Indian team.

From Bangladesh’s batting side, Mohammad Naim’s 81 off 48 balls was the only bright thing, but it went in vain as India won the game by 30 runs. Talking of the latest developments, Chahar was plying his trade for CSK in IPL 2020. Though the yellow army couldn’t qualify for the playoffs for the first time, the 28-year-old was a go-to bowler for MS Dhoni, especially with the new ball.