What did Shreyas Iyer tell Yuzvendra Chahal before magic spell in Mullanpur epic?

Yuzvendra Chahal bagged the ‘Player of the Match’ award against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Punjab Kings (PBKS) leg spinner had been struggling in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was averaging 83.50, and his economy was a sky-high 11.13.

Chahal’s match-winning spell against KKR

When PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer handed the ball to Chahal, KKR needed 52 runs in 13 overs. And they had 8 wickets in hand. It should have been a walk in the park. But Chahal changed the match. When his spell ended by the 14th over, KKR were 95/8.

He’d bagged the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh. His four-wicket haul saw PBKS successfully defend the lowest ever total in IPL history. It was mesmerising to watch Chahal bowl at his best again.

What did Shreyas Iyer tell Chahal?

After the match, Shreyas talked about what he had told Yuzvendra before his spell began.

“I was just backing my instincts. Just told Yuzi to hold his breath, but yes, the right players were there at the right time. When I went out to bat, one stayed low, and one bounced more. The others too said that it was a pitch with variable bounce. We had that at the back of our mind to bowl as much at the stumps as possible, and they got that plan right in terms of execution,” Shreyas said in the post-match interview.

“Two wickets in two overs gave us the momentum we wanted but then came a big partnership. But after that, Yuzi bowled superbly to change the course! I kept the field attacking to put pressure, and the tide turned towards us. It’s important that we stay humble and take the lessons from this win,” the PBKS captain added.