We were quite relaxed: Chahal

In a Royal Challengers Bangalore squad boasting of plenty of men in the fast lane, Yuzvendra Chahal is a lone warrior. The rail-thin Haryanvi carried the lead spinner’s mantle last season and this year too the leg-spinner may very well be wearing the same hat.

Despite the huge burden entrusted on his lean shoulders, the 23-year-old sounded optimistic of a good performance this year. “There is always pressure when you play a match. There is always a huge responsibility as I’m generally the lone spinner playing,” said Chahal after RCB’s thrilling three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens here on Saturday night.

“With Gautam Gambhir batting, it was not easy bowling to him as he’s left-handed. I had to think a lot and bowl,” he said about being introduced in the 10th over when KKR were going good at 77/0. “But, Kohli had a lot of trust in me. My initial plans were to try and bowl as many dot balls as possible. In T20, the more dot balls you bowl, the better chances are of you picking wickets.”

At the halfway stage of the match, RCB appeared to be in some trouble chasing KKR’s challenging 177 but Chahal said the mood in the camp was quite upbeat as they knew with Chris Gayle at the crease a win was possible.

“We were actually very relaxed as we knew until Gayle was there, we had a great chance. He played a brilliant knock and that has just lifted the spirits further. We’ve got a perfect start to the campaign.”

Yusuf Pathan, meanwhile, felt the dropped chance of Gayle while on 63 by Morne Morkel off his bowling proved to be a big difference. RCB were 132/5 with four overs left and just bowlers to come. Gayle then went to hammer a 56-ball 96 to power RCB home.

“If you drop catches, then yes you will lose matches. It’s very important that you take your catches. However, it’s not all over. We are just two matches old and the catching is a bit of concern for KKR. In a way it’s good that the errors are showing up this early so that we have time to address that. If such errors occur in the business end then it could spell trouble.”

Key spinner Sunil Narine, who had to undergo a change in action before this season, has gone wicketless in the opening two matches and appearing out of rhythm. Yusuf, though, said it’s not a major concern as he is a world-class bowler.

“It’s just the start of the season and we are confident of him coming good in the coming matches. He’s been a stellar performer for us ever since his arrival and he will strike it rich soon.”