T20I Performance of the Year - Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal was at home in more ways than one when playing England at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium last February. Despite making his T20I debut, the Indian leg-spinner had the confidence to do what he does best – attack.
On his Indian Premier League home ground and with his Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli backing him, the 27-year-old took the game by the scruff of the neck.
“It always feels like home,” he said after the match. “I've bowled in the Powerplay before in the IPL, and Virat has confidence in me that I can do that. I plan that batsmen will want to go for their shots because it's a small ground, so I have a chance for wickets. I bowl a fuller length, so I have a chance for lbws if they miss the sweep and reverse-sweep. I never dreamed I'd get six wickets."
India had posted an imposing 202/6 from their 20 overs and Chahal wasn’t afraid to give the ball plenty of air in England’s reply, bamboozling every batsman he came up against to seal the series decider.
Unperturbed by Jason Roy’s early switch-hit which sailed over the boundary rope and into the stands, Chahal responded in perfect fashion, dismissing the dangerous Sam Billings. But it was the wickets of Eoin Morgan (40) and Joe Root (42) which blew the game open for his side and precipitated a slide of eight wickets for eight runs.
His variations were there for all to see as his googly did for Morgan before a quicker ball pinned Root lbw. Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes came and went next as they tried in vain to find the boundary and Chahal claimed a sixth wicket when Chris Jordan danced past a regulation leg-break to be stumped.
Yuzvendra Chahal's effort against England was named ICC T20I Performance of the Year
The Indian leg-spinner has been recognised for his incredible haul of 6/25 against England in Bengaluru.
Video with credit to the BCCI
Chahal was named Player of the Match and Player of the Series as he ended with figures of 6/25 – the best by an Indian bowler in T20I history, and the third-best of all time, behind only Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis, who took 6/8 and 6/16 against Zimbabwe and Australia respectively.
“I have a lot of faith in him, and he plays with a lot of confidence,” Kohli said after the match. “He has a lot of skill and he has the character as well.”
Evin Lewis would have pushed Chahal hard for the accolade, having smashed 125 not out from 62 balls, including 12 sixes, in West Indies’ chase of 190 against India last July, while New Zealander Colin Munro’s 109 from 58 deliveries against the same opposition was similarly impressive.
The bowling performances of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who took 5/3 versus Ireland, and Imran Tahir, who claimed 5/24 against New Zealand, were no doubt also in the mix, but Chahal’s wizardry pipped them to the prize.
The Indian is a worthy successor to Carlos Brathwaite – the West Indian receiving the 2016 award for his breathtaking blitz against England in the ICC World T20 final.