IPL 2020: We feel the positive energy of 2016 season, says Yuzvendra Chahal

The Royal Challengers Bangalore were the story of the season in 2016. With just two wins from seven games, Virat Kohli’s men were on the brink of exit half-way through the edition. RCB then scripted a terrific turnaround with six wins out of seven games to qualify for the knockouts.

Yuzvendra Chahal, at a virtual press conference on Thursday, feels the current atmosphere in the team reminds him of that time four seasons ago, where RCB finished runners-up after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight runs in the final in Bengaluru.

“There is something about this season. I think it’s the same positive energy we felt in 2016. It’s not just me, but even Virat (Kohli) bhai, AB (de Villiers), the management, and a couple of others feel the same. It’s exciting. Our aim is to win the trophy. This year we have a better side, especially in the bowling department,” he said.

RCB, with two wins from three games, are fourth on table with four points. They play Rajasthan Royals on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

The leggie, RCB’s frontline spinner, began with a brilliant effort of 3/18 in the team’s opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chahal has had success against quality batsmen like Jonny Bairstow, Mayank Agarwal, and Quinton de Kock, all destructive top-order batsmen.

“I think you should judge the scenario of the game properly and then decide if it’s good to flight the ball or go flat. You need to know which batsman to attack and who you should allow to take singles. I have three-four variations and I try to use them at the right point. I am also bowling quicker googlies that will give the batsmen less chance to hit me, ” he explained.

To continuously clear the long boundaries in UAE will be a challenge for batsmen this edition. Barring the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the sluggish surfaces and long boundaries at Dubai and Abu Dhabi stadiums could produce many low-scoring encounters.

So far, seven games combined in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have seen the teams batting first score below 180. Chahal said spinners must use that as an advantage.

"It depends if the wicket is turning or not. It’s hard to hit on turning wickets in small grounds. Here, we have bigger boundaries and the wicket is fine too. So the batsmen have to hit very clean. At the Chinnaswamy (Stadium), even if the batsmen mistimed, it would go for six or four. Here we have more chances. If we flight more, it will be challenging for the batsmen. Fortunately for us, only three matches are in Sharjah, where the ground is similar to Chinnaswamy,” he observed.