Swing kings Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar have revealed their thought process during India’s defense of 164 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. The two spoke on ‘Chahal TV’ where they shared their plans for the Lankan batsmen.
India beat Sri Lankan by 38 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series. Following the post-match presentations, the two Indian pacers made an appearance on Yuzvendra Chahal’s show. When asked about the plans during the powerplay, Bhuvneshwar revealed:
“There was a bit of swing initially and the batsmen took their chances which went to the boundary. We generally plan on bowling slower balls outside off. And for us today, the execution was spot on so it worked.”
Bhuvneshwar managed to pick up outstanding figures of 4/22, which included three wickets at the death. It’s the first time since August 2019 that he has managed to pick up a wicket in the final overs. He was awarded the man of the match for his brilliant effort.
4⃣/2⃣2⃣ in 3.3 overs 🔥🔥@BhuviOfficial wins the Man of the Match award for his splendid performance in the 1st #SLvIND T20I👏👏#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/DlV3aIK4um
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 25, 2021
“Scoring runs was tough after the powerplay” – Deepak Chahar
The Chennai Super Kings bowler Deepak Chahar also played a pivotal role alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar in India’s win. He bowled the game-changing 16th over where he picked up two wickets. It included the prized scalps of set batsman Charith Asalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga.
“They [Sri Lankan batsmen] took their chances as they knew they had to score well in the powerplay. It was tough to score runs after the powerplay. I usually try to bowl where my field is set. The planning is usually to get the batsmen to hit where the fielders are,” said Deepak Chahar.
What happens when #TeamIndia's swing kings @BhuviOfficial & @deepak_chahar9 are Chahal TV's special guests? 🤔@yuzi_chahal tickles their funny bone & it's laughter galore in Colombo 😎😎 – by @28anand & @ameyatilak
Watch the full video 🎥 👇 #SLvIND https://t.co/6UMBozEOT0 pic.twitter.com/YOWEF7fOl9
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 26, 2021
After the commanding win in the first T20I, the teams will play the second game on July 27, Tuesday. Sri Lanka needs to find a quick solution to their batting woes. They have lost 10 out of their last 11 T20Is which doesn’t bode well for the team.