NEW DELHI : Rajasthan Royals legbreak spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on Tuesday etched his name in the history books by becoming the first Indian to achieve the landmark of 350 wickets in the T20 format.
Chahal achieved the feat against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
In his 301st T20 match, DC skipper Rishabh Pant became his 350th victim in T20 format. The left-handed batter went down and tried to place his shot across the field.
Pant mistimed his shot due to a lack of balance and sent it straight towards deep backward square leg in Trent Boult’s safe hands.
As Chahal rejoiced to celebrate his 350th T20 wicket, Pant walked back towards the dugout with a score of 15(13).
Overall, former West Indies all-rounder DJ Bravo is the leading wicket-taker in the shortest format of cricket with a whopping tally of 625 in 573 matches.
Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan is in the second spot with 572 wickets to his name in 424 matches. The third spot is held by Kolkata Knight Riders in-form all-rounder Sunil Narine. The experienced star has 549 wickets in 509 games.
Chahal is the fifth spinner to claim 350 wickets in the T20 format. Rashid Khan (572), Sunil Narine (549), Imran Tahir (502) and Shakib Al Hasan (482) are ahead of him.
Coming to the DC’s clash against RR, the 33-year-old spinner proved to be expensive as he finished his four-over spell with a wicket and gave away 48 runs at an economy of 12.00.
DC posted a mammoth total of 221/8 following explosive knocks from Jake Fraser McGurk, Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs.
The young Australian batter continued his scorching run of form and his half-century came in 20 balls. He became the first-ever player to have three half-centuries in 20 balls or less in the history of the competition.
Before Jake, RR batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) stars Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul, Mumbai Indians (MI) batters Ishan Kishan and Kieron Pollard, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Sunil Narine and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Travis Head had two fifties each in 20 balls or less.
Porel was explosive at the top as well, he went all guns blazing and struck 65 off in 36 deliveries which was laced with seven fours and three towering sixes.
When DC were reduced to 150/5, Tristan Stubbs provided the much-needed firepower with his 41 off 20 deliveries. Their collective efforts with the bat propelled DC to 221/8. (ANI)