Nagpur: Right-arm pacer Deepak Chahar took apart the Bangladesh batting to hand India a series-clinching 30-run win in the third and final T20I at the VCA Stadium on Sunday. During his magical spell, the 27-year-old Rajasthan seamer went on to become the first Indian bowler to score a hat-trick in T20Is.
His figures of 6/7 were the best so far in T20 internationals as he surpassed the previous record held by Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis, who had scalped 6/8 against Zimbabwe in 2012.
After a memorable night, Deepak revealed that his stint with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings helped him to bowl in conditions, which are generally difficult because of the dew.
“Playing in Chennai, I have now realised how to counter dew and sweat. How to keep my hands clean. At times, rub dry soil in your hands and then bowl (so that the hands don’t get slippery),” the seamer said while interacting with Yuzvendra Chahal alongside Shreyas Iyer on ‘Chahal TV.’
Asked what was his strategy considering that there was no nip in the air and the ball wasn’t swinging a lot, he said: “Since the side boundaries (at VCA Stadium) were big, we planned that we will have to force the batsmen to play shots on the sides. I also wanted to vary the pace as the ball was getting wet because of the dew and it was difficult to grip.”
The pacer had dismissed one batsman on the last ball of the 18th over and then he dismissed two batsmen in the opening two balls of the 20th over.
“I came to know in the end that I got a hat-trick since I got the first wicket off the last ball of previous over. Even if you sit back at home and dream, you will not think that in four overs, you will get six wickets for 7 runs,” he said.
Chahar, meanwhile, has moved up 88 slots to 42nd position in the latest ICC T20I rankings for players, but the bowlers’ list continues to be led by slow bowlers. The top five and eight of the top nine are spinners, with Mitchell Santner reaching second place — his best position since he topped the table in January 2018.
As per the ICC release, Dawid Malan, whose tally of 458 runs is more than anyone else after their first nine matches, has moved to No. 3 on the batting rankings, while Australia captain Aaron Finch has moved up two spots to the second position in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings. The list is led by Pakistan’s Babar Azam.
The latest update includes the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019, the series between Australia and Pakistan, between New Zealand and England, as well as the one between India and Bangladesh.
England captain Eoin Morgan and New Zealand opener Martin Guptill have also made notable movements to take joint ninth place while Jonny Bairstow has reached a career-best 498 rating points and is in the top 40 for the first time.
In the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, Pakistan continue at the top with 270 points but Australia are only one point behind them after winning their three-match series 2-0. England, South Africa and India occupy the next three positions and are within five points of each other as teams gear up for next year’s World T20 in Australia.
