PBKS spinner Rahul Chahar has returned to form by taking two wickets off the first two balls of his spell against CSK in Dharamsala on Sunday, May 5.
CSK were having a strong run of play, with the pairing of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell developing into something major. Following a good finish to the powerplay, the visitors were 69/1 after seven overs, forcing Sam Curran to bring Chahar into the attack.
The leg-spinner began with a length delivery far outside off, which Gaikwad was able to handle more than 90% of the time. However, this time, the opening batsman nicked it to the wicketkeeper, and Jitesh Sharma made an excellent catch.
Rahul Chahar faced the dangerous Shivam Dube next. The left-handed batsman had missed the previous match after being knocked for a golden duck by Chahar’s spin partner, Harpreet Brar, in Chepauk lately. However, Dube was only able to earn his second consecutive golden duck after getting removed identically to his skipper the previous ball.
Dube attempted to cut the incorrect ball to the off-side but only got an edge, which the wicketkeeper pouched at. View both dismissals right here:
Chahar was on the verge of taking his third wicket in the over when Moeen Ali’s swing against the wrong’un caught the toe end of the bat. The bowler had the potential to claim a return catch, but after diving, he was unable to reach the ball and capitalize on the challenging situation.
Rahul Chahar is on a roll after returning to PBKS’ playing XI in IPL 2024
The leg-spinner had a poor start to the season, taking only two wickets in his first three matches. He was dropped after PBKS lost away to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 42 runs in three overs.
Rahul Chahar returned to the playing XI after nearly a month for the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens. Chahar recorded stats of 1/33 in a match that produced over 520 runs, including the crucial wicket of Sunil Narine. He followed up with a match-winning performance against CSK in Chennai, taking two wickets for 16 runs.
