Yuzvendra Chahal completes 200 IPL wickets: Dissecting his numbers
Veteran leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal scripted history on Monday (April 22) as he became the first bowler to complete 200 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Rajasthan Royals star accomplished the milestone with his only scalp in Match 38 of IPL 2024 against Mumbai Indians. Chahal dismissed Mohammad Nabi for 23 to finish with 1/48 in four overs. Let's dissect his IPL numbers.
Decoding Chahal's journey in IPL
Chahal made his IPL debut in 2013 for Mumbai Indians. He moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and served them until 2021. Rajasthan Royals secured his services for Rs. 6.5 crore in the 2022 auction event. The leg-spinner has been a formidable force in the middle overs, where he can restrict the flow of runs alongside taking key wickets.
200 scalps for Chahal
Chahal took just 153 games to complete 200 scalps in the competition. His average and economy rate read 21.6 and 7.73, respectively. Last year, he displaced Dwayne Bravo (183) at the summit of the wickets tally. Chahal has six four-wicket hauls and a solitary fifer, which came against the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022. His only IPL hat-trick also came in that match.
152 wickets in middle overs
As per ESPNcricinfo, Chahal boasts 152 IPL scalps in the middle overs (7th to 16th over) - the most for a bowler in this phase. No other bowler has even 140 wickets in this regard. Chahal's strike rate (17.30) in the middle overs is only third to Kagiso Rabada (15.88) and Jasprit Bumrah (17.28) among bowlers with 30-plus wickets in this phase.
Most wickets for RCB
As mentioned, Chahal served RCB for eight seasons and returned with 139 wickets in 113 games, conceding runs at 7.58. No other bowler has taken 100 or more IPL wickets for the franchise. Notably, the leggie went wicket-less in his only outing for MI in the 2013 season. As RCB released Chahal after the 2021 event, IPL 2022 marked Chahal's debut for RR.
Stellar numbers for RR
Chahal repaid the faith of RR management and bagged the Purple Cap in the 2022 season, claiming 27 wickets at 19.52. He was their highest wicket-taker last year as well, bagging 21 wickets at 20.57. The 33-year-old, who has raced to 13 scalps this season, now owns 61 wickets in 37 games for RR. He is their joint second-highest wicket-taker.
Do you know?
Chahal's bowling strike rate of 16.7 is the fifth-best among bowlers with 50-plus IPL wickets. His tally of seven four-plus wicket-hauls is the joint-second-most for a bowler in IPL. While he shares the position with Lasith Malinga, only Sunil Narine (8) is ahead. Chahal also boasts the second-most three-plus wicket-hauls in IPL (20). His tally is only second to Bumrah (22).
Third bowler with this feat
Chahal became the third bowler to claim 200 wickets in a T20 competition. Danny Briggs (219) and Samit Patel (208) have 200-plus wickets in England's T20 Blast. Meanwhile, Chahal is among the only four bowlers with 50-plus IPL wickets for two franchises. Piyush Chawla (KKR and Punjab), Axar Patel (Punjab and DC) and Rashid Khan (SRH and GT) are the others with this feat.
A look at match summary
MI lost Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan (6/2) cheaply. Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammad Nabi too departed, reducing MI to 52/4. Although Tilak Varma (65) and Nehal Wadhera (49) got MI past 150, Sandeep Sharma's 5/18 restricted them to 179/9. In reply, centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal (104*) and Jos Buttler recorded a 74-run stand. A century-plus partnership between Jaiswal and Sanju Samson powered RR's win thereafter.
