Leg-spinners are match-winners: RR coach Lasith Malinga after Yuzvendra Chahal’s hattrick

Rajasthan Royals bowling coach Lasith Malinga was all praises for Yuzvendra Chahal after the latter recorded the first hat-trick of the season and guided his team to a seven-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday night.

“Chahal has more international experience. He is the most experience leg-spinner in the country and in this tournament. He showed how to control the skill. That’s more important for him going forward to prove he is good enough to play any competitive cricket,” Malinga said at the post-match press conference.

“Leg-spinners have more wicket taking options and he showed today how he can get wickets and changed the game in a single over. I think he showed all the leg-spinners that they are the match-winning bowlers in this competition,” he added. 

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Chahal, who gave away 38 runs in the first three overs, came back with a bang, giving away just two runs in the first three balls of the 17th over before picking up a hat-trick.

He removed Venkatesh Iyer off his first delivery in the 17th over and then Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins off the fourth, fifth and sixth balls to completely turn the match on its head and hand RR a victory.

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The Haryana-born leg spinner was named the Player of the Match for his five for 40 in four overs.

“I had to take wickets in this match to change the result. I worked on my bowling. I spoke to the coaches and the skipper. I was thinking of a googly but then I didn’t want to take a chance. Would have been a happy with a dot ball as well on my hat-trick ball. My googly was coming out well and sent it down to Venkatesh Iyer,” Chahal said at the post-match presentation.