On Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore completed a comprehensive win over Punjab Kings to cement their IPL 2021 playoff spot. India’s premier leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, who bowled yet another magical spell, turned the match in his side’s favour. 

Chahal had only four wickets in the first seven matches of the season, which were played in India before the pandemic force halted the league in the middle, with an economy of 8.26 and an average of 47.80. Fast forward to October 2021, and the 30-year-old has proven his critics wrong. He has picked up 10 wickets in 5 matches played on UAE soil so far.

During a chat on Star Sports, the Haryana-born cricketer revealed his gameplay during the target defence against the KL Rahul-led team. He also mentioned that Captain Kohli had told him to bowl dot balls, which immensely contributed to building pressure on the chasing party.

“I backed myself and bowled according to my strength, just that I varied my length. On this wicket 160 was a good score. Virat Kohli told me not to go for wickets in the middle overs, he told me to bowl dot balls. Mayank Agarwal is a great batsman, I love to bowl against him, it's challenging,” he said.

“My focus was not to bowl any loose balls. We had good momentum in the first half. The way we have bounced back after the first couple of games in the UAE, it is all because of unity in our team,” Chahal added.

The Royal Challengers, who are vying for the top-two finish, will go up against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, October 6.