We are gunning for a 5-0 whitewash: Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal, the Indian legspinner, has got the better of Glenn Maxwell in all the three One-Day Internationals of the ongoing five-match series against Australia.

The affair started in Chennai, where Maxwell was going berserk during the 164-run chase (DLS method). The 28-year-old was dealing in boundaries before Chahal had him caught at long-on. Chahal followed it up by getting Maxwell stumped in the next two games, both being results of proper planning.

"My plan to Maxwell is not to bowl at the stumps," said Chahal on Wednesday (September 27). "That's his strong area. I tend to bowl outside the off-stump and I vary my pace. I know that if I can bowl two-three dot balls, he will step out and try to play an aggressive shot. However, in order to beat the batsman, the line and length have to be perfect."

Apart from Chahal, who has picked up six wickets in the first three games, Australia has also struggled against Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner has claimed seven wickets which includes a hat-trick in the second ODI in Kolkata. Chahal feels that the home side has used the wrist spinners much better than Australia has.

"With Kuldeep Yadav, I know him for a very long time," said Chahal. "We have played with each other a lot. If I bowl first, then I tell him that the wicket is providing this kind of assistance. If he bowls first, then he tells me that the wicket is offering turn and that this is the right area to bowl to a certain batsman. The combination is good. Before the match, we discuss what the wicket will be like. We also discuss what ball to bowl to which batsmen. We always have plans.

"Our spinners have taken 13 wickets as compared to the Australian spinners. We have used the conditions much better than them. That is our plus point. Adam Zampa is the only wrist spinner in the (Australian) team but he is not featuring in the team consistently."

Chahal, who plays for Haryana in the domestic cricket, was delighted to return to Bangalore where he carries some happy memories. He has been phenomenal for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last four editions of the Indian Premier League. It was at this very venue where he also registered the second-best ever Twenty20 International figures of 6 for 25 against England, earlier this year.

"Whenever I play for India, I give my best," gushed Chahal. "I do not look at the name of the batsman while bowling. I bowl according to my strengths, be it for India, domestic or in the IPL. Although the ground (M. Chinnaswamy Stadium) is small, I have taken wickets and have had good performances at this venue.

"The wicket here has changed in the last couple of years. The wicket now is offering more turn to the spinners. It is a bit slow and there is grip, which was not there earlier. The boundaries here are small but if there is assistance in the wicket, you can get the wickets."

While the bowlers have done the job for the side, the Indian batsmen have done their reputation no harm. Virat Kohli's men have ticked all boxes that have given them an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. "If batsmen put up a good total on the board, then it gives the bowlers more confidence to bowl well," praised Chahal.

"In the middle overs, we have bowled pretty well, be it the Sri Lanka series or in this series. In the last series, the (opposition) team was not that strong. In the Australia series, we are taking wickets at the start, in the middle and even in the death overs. In the last game, they were 234/2 after 38 overs. From that position, they were restricted to 293. It was a great exhibition by the medium-pacers at the death. Whatever spell the spinners are getting towards the end overs, we are getting wickets."

The series is already done and dusted with two more games to go, but Chahal believes that the job is only half done. “Although we have won the series, we are gunning for a 5-0 whitewash. We may be leading 3-0 but we will not relax," he concluded.