Twenty balls. Seven runs. Six wickets, and a hat-trick. T20 numbers don’t get better than this. For Deepak Chahar, only seven T20Is old, the 6-7 was a breakthrough spell in India colours, embellished with several world records.

Deepak Chahar 6-7

India v Bangladesh

Nagpur
3rd T20I
November 10, 2019

The spell

Chahar’s six wickets, on either side of Bangladesh’s valiant pursuit, showcased the versatility of the medium-pacer, who, in two different spells, yanked the game out of Bangladesh’s reach.

Chasing 175 in the three-match series decider in Nagpur, Bangladesh’s first face-off with Chahar came in the third over. What followed was a lesson most teams should be aware of by now – never go after Deepak Chahar right away.

Liton Das’ eyes might have lit up when he saw a short ball in the slot; he tried to slap it over deep midwicket, but could only send it as far as Sundar, patrolling in the deep, who took a sliding, full-split grab. Soumya Sarkar, off the very next ball, tried to hoick another widish delivery, gifting one to mid-off.

That’s where Chahar works up his magic – in T20 cricket, he first ties up batsmen, and then forces them to release the pent-up stress by getting adventurous. Most of them end up falling prey to his nagging length, subtle fluctuation of pace, and movement off the pitch and in the air.

After his one-over burst, Chahar was taken off by skipper Rohit Sharma. The rest of the bowlers weren’t as penetrative, and the Bangladesh middle order made the most of the tension release, lapping up 88 runs between overs 5 and 12.

By then, opener Mohammad Naim had helped himself to 71 off 40. It looked as if Bangladesh would go all the way. And then, Rohit turned again to Chahar.

With three overs to go in his quota, Chahar brought an end to a 98-run stand between Naim and Mohammad Mithun (27), the only partnership of note amid a string of single digits. It severely hurt Bangladesh’s chasing chances, but he wasn’t letting the strangle go without putting some finishing touches. At the end of the over, his figures read 2-0-3-3.

The tail-enders tried to stretch the affair, but Chahar pocketed another enviable record, snaring three wickets in three balls to put an emphatic close to Bangladesh’s limping lower order. A wicket off the final ball of the 18th over gave him his fourth, and two wickets off the first two balls of the 20th wrapped things up.

The ball

19.2, Deepak Chahar to Aminul Islam, hat-trick

Chahar’s final delivery of the spell, a vicious yorker, brought up a host of records. A delivery that could have perturbed even a solid top-order batsman, the ball seared past both bat and toe. It brought India’s first hat-trick in men’s T20Is, and the best-ever figures in men’s T20Is.

“I never thought of this, not even in my dreams. I have been trying to work hard since my childhood and my efforts have paid off,” Chahar later said. Those eye-popping figures are every bowler’s fantasy.