This article was originally published in FirstPost.com
In 2017, the leggie kickstarted his IPL journey with Rising Pune Supergiants at the age of 17, and has created waves several times during his five-year-long career
File image of Rahul Chahar playing for Mumbai Indians. Sportzpics
Indian spinner Rahul Chahar, cousin of another Indian bowing sensation Deepak Chahar, undoubtedly counts among the bowling prodigies who have the potential to become a big name in the upcoming years. In 2017, the leggie kickstarted his IPL journey with Rising Pune Supergiants at the age of 17, and has created waves several times during his five-year-long career.
While helping Mumbai Indians lift the IPL trophy back-to-back in 2019 and 2020, the Rajasthan-born cricketer earned his maiden call-up for the Indian national team in the T20 International series against West Indies in 2019. He featured for his first One Day International in the Indian outfit against Sri Lanka in 2021 and scalped three wickets in his debut game.
Though he had to struggle a lot to get a chance initially, Rahul Chahar soon emerged as a trustworthy name in the middle overs for the Mumbai unit. He was bought by Punjab Kings for a whopping Rs 5.25 crores ahead of IPL 2022. So far, the 23-year-old bowler has featured in 55 IPL games and scalped a total of 57 wickets at an economy rate of 7.51.
Today, on the occasion of his 23rd birthday, let’s take a look at Rahul Chahar’s best spells in the Indian Premier League:
4 wickets for 27 runs vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2021): The only 4-fer from Rahul Chahar in the 2021 season came at the home venue against Kolkata Knight Riders. While defending a below-par total of 152 runs, the leg spinner scythed through the KKR top-order and got 4 wickets to his name. Powered by Rahul Chahar's excellent performance with the ball, Mumbai Indians successfully restricted the visitors to 142 runs and clinched a 10-run victory.
3 wickets for 19 runs vs Delhi Capitals (2019): It was the breakthrough season for Chahar as he became a permanent name in the Mumbai squad. In a match against Delhi Capitals, he picked up three crucial wickets including the opener duo of Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan. The three-wicket haul helped his side to record a 40-run win.
3 wickets for 19 runs vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (2021): Chahar relished good form in his last season for Mumbai Indians. In the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he recorded three important scalps while giving away just 19 runs- Manish Pandey, Virat Singh and Abhishek Sharma. The commendable bowling display guided Mumbai to an important 13-run victory.
3 wickets for 25 runs vs Chennai Super Kings (2022): Rahul Chahar started his journey for the Punjab-based franchise in the latest edition and bagged three wickets in his first fixture against Chennai Super Kings. Tasked with the responsibility of defending a mammoth 180 runs, Rahul Chahar destroyed the lower order to snatch an easy victory over the Yellow Army.
3 wickets for 29 runs vs Rajasthan Royals (2019): Chahar’s second three-wicket spell of the 2019 season came was unable to guide Mumbai Indians to victory as they got outplayed by Rajasthan Royals. Chahar picked up three wickets at a cost of 29 runs and tried to slow down Rajasthan’s innings. But, Steve Smith’s impressive knock of 59 runs finally took the contest away from them.
Happy birthday Rahul Chahar!
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