IPL 2021: Deepak Chahar acclaimed by MS Dhoni following CSK's dominant win over PBKS
Deepak Chahar is a pacer who plays for India and has been associated with Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League since 2018. CSK is a former three-time champion, having won it all under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, besides getting off to a mixed start in IPL 2021.
Indian pacer Deepak Chahar was the star of former champion Chennai Super Kings. The side bamboozled past Punjab Kings in Match 8 of the Indian Premier League 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
Chahar claimed 4/13 and rattled the top-order of PBKS to push the side onto the backfoot right from the start. Meanwhile, following Chahar's terrific performance with the ball, CSK skipper MS Dhoni had all the praise for him, acclaiming his growth as a bowler over the years.
"Over all the years, he has matured into a death bowler too, but he's somebody who gets more purchase than other bowlers. If you're looking to attack, why not finish his first four overs. Bravo can bowl at the death. It's not a secret," said Dhoni, following the game.
Following his performance in the game, Chahar stated that the responsibility to deliver from the opening over was bestowed upon him by the team management. "It's a big responsibility for me in the last four years and Mahi bhai has shown faith in me. As a bowler, this is my plan always. You may not take wickets in T20s, so my plan is to bowl dots in powerplays," he recalled.
"We have pace in our attack; we obviously want to use that. The first game didn't go too well for those two (Richardson and Meredith), it was their first game and I am sure they were a bit nervous. That was the chat after the game as well; that's how IPL goes. It can be tough and cruel. Their plans were clear; they did execute it pretty well," he concluded by speaking on the overall game plan by CSK.
Match summary
Winning the toss and electing to field, CSK made the perfect start by rattling the PBKS top-order, while the middle-order was put under pressure, as despite Shahrukh Khan's late cameo, the latter could manage 106/8. In reply, it was an easy chase, thanks to Faf du Plessis and Moeen.
Brief scores: PBKS 106/8 (Shahrukh- 47; Chahar- 4/13) lost to CSK 107/4 in 15.4 overs (Du Plessis- 36, Moeen- 46; Shami- 2/21) by 6 wickets.