The M Chinnaswamy Stadium has a reputation for sixes. Big sixes. It’s a small ground and batsmen send the ball soaring into the stands with ease. Even mishits more often than not sail over the rope. According to a stat by Star Sports, which was flashed on screen in the pre-match show, no other venue in the world sees more maximum’s than this. You have got to feel for the bowlers for the violence they have to put up with.
On Wednesday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Suresh Raina unleashed five mighty hits; Yuvraj Singh nailed three in one over; and the cleanest and longest came off KL Rahul’s bat landing on the roof. But the mightiest ‘six’ of the evening was produced by a bowler, Yuzvendra Chahal, as he took six wickets for 25 runs – the third-best figures in T20Is – to pull the rug from under England’s feet. In a spectacular collapse, England lost eight wickets for eight runs to crash to a 75-run defeat.
The feat came at what is Chahal’s homeground in the IPL. Royal Challengers Bangalore mostly pride themselves in their batting firepower. And for good reasons too. After all they have Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle in their ranks. Among them they have scored mountains of runs and have been cited as the main reason behind the team’s impressive run in the past two seasons: making the playoffs in 2015 and finishing as runners-up last year. But the diminutive Chahal almost invisibly made an equally significant contribution. He has made the handicap that the Chinnaswamy imposes on a bowler into his strength. Rather than bowling defensively, the leg-spinner invites the batsmen to hit him.
