Swing bowler Deepak Chahar on Tuesday showcased some power-hitting with the bat as he rushed to his maiden ODI half-century off 64 balls. The 28-year-old’s efforts helped India win the match by three wickets and seal the series. Chahar finished with a score of 69 off 82 balls. 

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India were struggling at 160/6 when Chahar walked in. The Chennai Super Kings bowler picked up the innings and the match, that seemed almost lost, to give India some hope and take it to the end. Chahar stitched a timely partnership with all-rounder Krunal Pandya and then joined hands with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to keep the chase on. Playing his fifth ODI, Chahar managed to get the legendary Rahul Dravid on his feet with a brilliant knock.

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Deepak Chahar picked two wickets in the first innings. His figures of 53/2 in eight overs helped India restrict Sri Lanka to 275 runs in 50 overs. 

This win means that India have successfully chased down a target of 250+ without any of the top three scoring 50+ for the first time since beating Zimbabwe in Auckland in the 2015 World Cup, when they were chasing 288.

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After being adjudged man of the match, Chahar said that this was the kind of situation he dreamt of. T

“Only one thing was going in my mind (When I came out to bat) and this is the kind of thing you dream when you start playing cricket and when playing for India. No better way to win the match for the nation.”

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“Rahul sir told me to play all the balls. I have played few innings for India A and he has belief in me and always believes in me and that was a game-changer. We have a fantastic batting line-up and hopefully, I won’t get to bat in the next games. This is the first time for me in such a situation. We were just playing ball by ball and when it came under 50 that is when I decided to hit boundaries and after that six (42.2 – off Sandakan) it gave me the momentum,” he said.