Turning it in Punjab’s favour

On the eve of the Kings XI game against Mumbai Indians, Piyush Chawla spoke about the pressures of being a leg-spinner...

On the eve of the Kings XI game against Mumbai Indians, Piyush Chawla spoke about the pressures of being a leg-spinner in the T20 format. Aware of Sanath Jayasuriya’s terrific form and watching the Sri Lankan hit a few big shots at the nets, he was wary of bowling against him in the game.

“Are they making a turning track or not?” he asked a local at the Wankhede Stadium. Asked about his gameplan Chawla said, “In Bangalore there was no assistance from the pitch and I had a real tough time. The other problem in T20 is that it is quite tough to grip the ball in the initial overs. The ball doesn’t lose its shine and that is a problem.”

So, when Yuvraj Singh threw him the ball in the sixth over, it was easy to understand the pressure on him. And his eventual figures of 4-0-22-1 in a close match meant Chawla had delivered, under pressure.

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Skipper Yuvraj, who wasn’t impressed by the overall bowling of his team, had a few kind words for the youngster. “He has been bowling well whenever I have thrown ball to him. eight out of 10 times he has performed,” Yuvraj said.

Chawla got the crucial wicket of hard-hitting all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, who was looking dangerous after two consecutive sixes.

Tendulkar said the team had plans to go after a few bowlers and back out against a few and considering Chawla’s fine form, Mumbai had planned to deal with him cautiously. “There is no doubt he bowled brilliantly, he is a smart cricketer,” said Tendulkar.