An eventful day 1 of the Indian T20 League 2022 mega auction saw all ten teams going big for their targets. Opening batter Shikhar Dhawan opened the proceedings, joining Team Punjab for INR 8.25 crore before Shreyas Iyer became the first player to breach the INR 10-crore mark.

Among the bowlers, a certain Deepak Chahar attracted the highest bid with a price of INR 14 crore while Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga was among the top all-rounder with an INR 10.75 crore bid.

The highlight of the day, however, was the intense bidding war for Ishan Kishan, who ended up as the most expensive buy of day 1. 

On that note, let’s look at five players who attracted the highest bids on Day 1 of the Indian T20 League 2022 mega auction.

Ishan Kishan to Team Mumbai - INR 15.25 crore

Starting off with a base price of INR 2 crore, it took little to no time for suitors to breach the INR 8 crore mark for Ishan Kishan. By that time, it was evident that Mumbai wasn't going to go down that easily. Until 8 crore, Mumbai managed to ward off interest from Punjab before Gujarat entered the fray to take the bid above INR 10 crore.

By the 12 crore mark, Hyderabad decided to trouble the five-time Indian T20 League winners before Mumbai won the bid at INR 15.25 crore. This made Ishan Kishan the most expensive buy of Day 1 and also made him the second most expensive Indian player at the Indian T20 League auction after Yuvraj Singh's 16 crore.

Deepak Chahar to Team Chennai - INR 14 crore

What started off as rather unhurried bidding ended up with Deepak Chahar pocketing a whopping INR 14 crore from Team Chennai. Team Delhi and Team Hyderabad started the war from his base price of INR 2 crore. The two teams were matching every bid until INR 12 crore before Chennai made a late entry.

Rajasthan joined the defending champions at INR 13.75 crore but Chennai were always a step ahead. By the end, Chennai had their man, albeit at a price of INR 14 crore.

Shreyas Iyer to Team Kolkata - INR 12.25 crore

Former Delhi captain Shreyas Iyer was one of the winners from the marquee set of players, attracting a bid of INR 12.25 crore from Team Kolkata. Iyer was always tipped to attract big bids in the auction hence it does not really come as any surprise that a team went over the 12 crore mark for the batter.

The two-time Indian T20 League winners entered the bidding war after Team Delhi and Team Gujarat had stretched the bid to over INR 6 crore. Kolkata’s idea behind Iyer’s acquisition is a part of their ‘long term thinking�?and the fact that they might as well make him the captain isn't really touched.

“That's a decision the coach and the think tank will take," Venky Mysore, Team Kolkata CEO, said on the official broadcast during a break in proceedings. "I think we need to just digest the activity of today and tomorrow and take stock. Between Cummins and Shreyas, we have got solid options. But the think tank will take the decision."

Shardul Thakur to Team Delhi - INR 10.75 crore

Another top pick among bowlers was Shardul Thakur. The pacer bowler won the bid of INR 10.75 crore as Delhi managed to ward off interest from Team Punjab and Team Gujarat.

The three teams were on the neck of each other from the very beginning. After Punjab and Gujarat had started off the proceedings, Chennai joined the foray at INR 6 crore. The Yellow Army, however, dropped off after the 10 crore mark, leaving Delhi and Punjab the only competitors.

Delhi eventually got his signature for INR 10.75 crore.

Harshal Patel to Team Bangalore - INR 10.75 crore

Last season’s highest wicket-taker, Harshal Patel was rightly expected to attract heavy interest and the suitor did not disappoint. Team Hyderabad seemed adamant about acquiring his services but Bangalore were always a step ahead.

The pace bowler, who went for a mere INR 20 lakh last season, got a 5375 per cent hike this year as Bangalore managed to retain his services at INR 10.75 crore. By that time, he was the first bowler to cross the 10 crore mark on day 1 of the Indian T20 League 2022 mega auction.

Quite interestingly, as many as four players went for exactly INR 10.75 crore. Apart from Shardul Thakur and Harshal Patel, the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Wanindu Hasaranga were snapped up at the same price by Hyderabad and Bangalore respectively.

Featured photo: AFP / Prakash Singh

Indian fast-bowler Deepak Chahar has credited former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni for his improvement as a bowler in the powerplay overs.

Dhoni has captained Chahar in the Chennai side in the Indian T20 League, in which the bowler has gone from strength to strength.

“Mahi bhai has made me a powerplay bowler,�?Chahar told The Times of India.

The 28-year-old seamer explained how Dhoni’s backing has been instrumental in the development of his abilities.

“He always says, ‘you are my powerplay bowler.�?He knows his players well, and he uses them wisely. He knows who is good at death, who is good in the powerplay, and who is good in the middle overs.”�?/span>

Chahar further added that playing under Dhoni has not only helped him grow as a bowler, but also credited the veteran keeper-batsman for teaching him to accept responsibilities in a better way.

“It was a long-cherished dream of mine to play under Mahi bhai. I have learnt a lot under his captaincy. I have taken my game to another level under his guidance. He has always backed me. He taught me how to take responsibility.�?/span>

A few weeks ago, Kuldeep Yadav too opened up on how the former Indian captain’s advice and strategy helped the spinner take wickets at regular intervals. 

Although the Indian team for the limited overs series in Sri Lanka is yet to be announced, Deepak Chahar could well be considered as one of the picks for the tour. The seamer might also be given the opportunity to lead the pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. 

Chahar made his ODI debut in September 2018. Since then he has only played in three ODIs. As far as the T20Is are concerned, the seamer has played 13 games for India.

Featured photo: AFP / Noah Seelam

From Deepak Chahar’s match-winning spell against Kolkata to Glenn Maxwell finding his form, SportsAdda’s brand ambassador Brett Lee addressed several talking points that surfaced during the second week of the 2021 Indian T20 League.

In a candid chat with Manish Batavia, the former Australian pacer first explained what makes Deepak Chahar a quality bowler in the Indian T20 League. Chahar was Chennai’s best bowler during their 18-run win over Kolkata, picking four wickets while conceding just 29 runs.

“It was an absolutely brilliant piece of fast bowling,�?said Lee. 

“When we talk about Deepak Chahar it is not the express pace over that 145 kmph bracket, but it doesn’t have to be because he has got that shape, he has got that swing, he has got that length and he had the ball on a string. It came off the hand beautifully and his seam position was impeccable.  He got the ball nibble a little bit. So when the ball nibbles of the seam, you are destined to take wickets.�?/span>

The curious case of Glenn Maxwell

For someone who failed to hit a six during the entirety of the Indian T20 League last year, the rejuvenation in Glenn Maxwell’s form has been a sheer treat, to say the least. The Australian all-rounder has already bettered his last year’s tally in just three innings and judging by the form he is in, it is safe to say that there’s more to come.

“I’ll try to work out why Maxwell has been so successful with this franchise. Nothing changed with his technique. He might be a little bit more closed off than he was last year in terms of front foot. His hips position now is in alignment in terms of facing towards the umpire,�?explains Brett Lee. 

“Apart from that, I think Maxwell is thriving in an environment where he is not the ‘big show�? He is still an important player but now he is playing in a squad that has got Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. So I think all the pressure is off Maxwell now. 

“Normally in the other teams, he has been the main man, he has to score runs, he has got to step up. But when you throw Kohli and de Villiers, they are the guys with all the spotlight. So Maxwell can come under the radar and play his natural game. He is relishing the fact that he is in an environment that allows him to express himself.�?/span>

Age-defying Devdutt Padikkal

Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal scored his maiden Indian T20 League century on Thursday, April 22 against Rajasthan. The funny thing that is floating around the internet is the fact that on the same date exactly 10 years back, Chris Gayle scored his maiden Indian T20 League century, with the West Indian remaining not out along with Virat Kohli.

22nd April 2011:
Chris Gayle scored his maiden IPL hundred.
RCB won the game.
Gayle and Virat Kohli remained Not Out in the chase.

22nd April 2021:
Devdutt Padikkal scored his maiden IPL hundred.
RCB won the game.
Padikkal and Virat Kohli remained not out in the chase.

�?Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 22, 2021

Lee, for one, is impressed by the 20-year-old’s style and has said that he hasn’t seen a guy that well at the age of 20.

“You see he is a different player from Gayle. Yes, they are both left-handers, but play a different style. Gayle is more aggressive, hits sixes while Padikkal has got beautiful timing. 

“Up until his century, he had 36 runs in two innings, but that was a good 36. He looked like he was in good form. You go back to last season where he scored 400-plus runs so you know his track record is good. I haven’t seen a guy that well at the age of 20 ever.�?/span>

KL Rahul’s class is permanent

KL Rahul has been amongst runs in the Indian T20 League but has been criticised for playing at a rather substandard strike rate. In his four innings so far this season, only once has he managed to strike at a rate of over 180, but Lee says Rahul is a much better player than what the stats show.

The outcome of those three knocks by KL Rahul:

61 (51) @ 119.60 - DC chased down 196 with 10 balls to spare
63 (52) @ 121.15 - CSK chased down 179 without losing a wicket
69 (54) @ 127.77 - RR recorded the highest IPL chase (224)

�?Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) April 18, 2021

“We all know KL Rahul can score runs quickly. I think back maybe three or four years ago he got a fifty in 14 balls so there is no reason why he can’t score runs quickly. He has got the technique to do it, he has got the mindset, but I think this slower strike rate is because he is trying to bat through the entire innings. He is probably thinking I need to bat deep, I need to go through the 14-15 overs to set the platform for the team. 

“But you know you can’t soak up too many balls. He is a much better player than what the stats show so I’m not concerned about KL Rahul because his class is permanent.�?/span>

MS Dhoni’s Team Chennai picked their 15th win over Team Punjab in the Indian T20 League on Friday, April 16, this time defeating them by six wickets in what was a rather low-scoring affair. 

Wankhede’s wicket is known for being a batting paradise, but a Deepak Chahar masterclass had restricted Punjab to just 106/8 after they were put in to bat first. Such was Chennai’s dominance in the game that Punjab could only muster 26/4 in the powerplay overs, which is in fact their fourth-lowest powerplay score in the Indian T20 League.

The only player for Punjab who shone was Shahrukh Khan. The middle-order batsman scored 47 off 36 balls and is potentially the reason why Punjab could even cross the 100-run mark. A total of 106/8 is now Punjab sixth-lowest total in the league and the third-lowest team total in the first innings in the Indian T20 League.

There were several such records on the night and here we look at a few of them.

Deepak Chahar’s masterclass 

A bowling figure of 4/13 is now is the best return for Chennai pacer Deepak Chahar in the Indian T20 League. This is, in fact, the first time that the 28-year-old has picked four wickets in his Indian T20 League career. Meanwhile, this figure helped him become the sixth-highest wicket-taker for Chennai in the league. This is now the third-best bowling spell by a Chennai bowler vs Punjab in the league.

Deepak Chahar's best bowling figures in Indian T20 League
Wickets	Runs	Opponent	Venue	Date
4	13	Punjab	Wankhede Stadium	16 April 2021
3	15	Hyderabad	Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium	22 May 2018
3	20	Kolkata	MA Chidambaram Stadium	9 April 2019
3	26	Mumbai	Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium	12 May 2019

Chahar has a knack for picking early wickets in the Indian T20 League and thus it does not come as a surprise that a whopping 73,47% of his total wickets (36/48) have come in the first six overs. Furthermore, while he has picked just two wickets between 7-15 overs, he has scalped 11 wickets between 16-20 overs.

Shahrukh Khan the only survivor 

While Punjab kept on losing wickets, a certain Shahrukh Khan went on to play his best-ever Indian T20 League knock, scoring 47 off 36 balls. He scored 44.34% runs of his team’s total. The 25-year-old scored a majority of his runs (20) at mid-wicket and covers. Furthermore, a detailed bifurcation of his knock explains how he took the Chennai bowlers to the cleaners. While he couldn’t muster runs against the likes of Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran, he made Shardul Thakur his prey, smashing the pacer for 19 runs in 11 runs, hitting him at a strike rate of 172.72.

Moeen and Faf's impressive partnership

While Chennai opener Faf du Plessis remained unbeaten at 36, it was Moeen Ali’s performance that grabbed the attention. The England all-rounder, who came out to bat at No. 3, scored 46 off just 31 balls and missed out on his fourth Indian T20 League half-century by whiskers. Ali played a 66-run stand with du Plessis and scored 69.70% of runs (46) in the partnership.

Moeen Ali vs Punjab bowlers
Bowlers	Runs	Balls	Strike Rate	Run %
Arshdeep Singh	4	3	133.33	8.69
Jhye Richardson	1	1	100.00	2.17
Mohammed Shami	10	6	166.66	21.73
Murugan Ashwin	18	11	163.63	39.13
Riley Meredith	13	10	130.00	28.26

Murugan Ashwin finally got the Englishman off the crease but the spinner was, in fact, the most expensive bowler against Ali, conceding 18 runs off 11 balls. Ali’s effort guided Chennai to a win with 26 balls still remaining. This is their fourth-largest win in terms of balls remaining in the Indian T20 League. Three of their top five wins in terms of balls remaining have come in Mumbai.

Featured photo: Twitter / IPL

After Australia clinched the ODI series 2-1, the Indian cricket team bounced back strongly to seal the T20I series Down Under. As we inch closer to the last game of the white-ball series, I must admit that this has been a sheer delight to watch. 

So, when these two sides cross swords in the third and final T20I of the three-match series on December 8 at the Sydney Cricket Ground yet again, I expect the following players to play a key role in it:

Deepak Chahar

Indian medium pacer Deepak Chahar, who holds the record for the best bowling figures in T20I history, will look to put in a good display in the final game of the white-ball series. Even though Chahar was expensive in the last T20I encounter, he is a wicket-taker with the new ball and would want to end the series on a high. The 28-year-old had a decent outing in the first match of the T20 series where he gave the Indians a match-winning breakthrough by removing the dangerous Moises Henriques.

Matthew Wade

Australia’s stand-in skipper Matthew Wade will be very disappointed that his blistering half-century in the second T20I ended up in a losing cause. Leading the Aussies in the absence of injured Aaron Finch, Wade’s blitzkrieg innings of 58 runs off just 32 balls had helped the hosts post a mammoth total of 194/5 in their 20 overs. The 32-year-old will hope that he can contribute with the bat at the top of the order and help the side end the limited-overs series with a victory.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer just showed why he is such a valuable asset to the Indian white-ball set-up in the last T20 encounter against Australia. Iyer’s monstrous 111-metre six off Adam Zampa was one of the highlights of the second T20I. His 46-run stand with India all-rounder Hardik Pandya steered the visitors to a series-clinching victory on Sunday. Since the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground has been a batting paradise, I expect Shreyas to come good again in the final match of the T20 series.

Marcus Stoinis

The Australian all-rounder looked in great touch in the second T20I after making his comeback from an injury. Marcus Stoinis was also one of the standout performers in the recently-concluded Indian T20 league. The 31-year-old has already played 23 T20Is in his short international career, amassing 236 runs and claiming nine wickets for the Aussies. With the conditions at the SCG assisting the batters, I believe Stoinis can rightly be Australia’s X-factor in the third T20I. Of course, avoiding India’s clean sweep will be an added motivation as well.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / David Gray

The penultimate Sunday of the league stage of the Indian T20 League will serve us two juicy fixtures, as the high-flying Bangalore will take on Chennai and then later in the evening, it will be the unpredictable Rajasthan against title-favourites Mumbai.

So two great matches with a plethora of world-class talent on show, but here’s who I will keep a keen eye on during the two matches:

Bangalore �?Yuzvendra Chahal

Arguably the best Indian bowler in the Indian T20 League for the past couple of years, Yuzvendra Chahal is delivering yet another sensational season for Bangalore. So far, he’s picked up 15 wickets, joint-third-highest in the league alongside Mumbai's Jasprit Bumrah and Rajasthan's Jofra Archer. So often, when the team is in need of a breakthrough, skipper Virat Kohli just tosses the ball to Chahal and usually, the feisty leggie answers his captain's call with a wicket or even two. Chahal's consistency and his bravery in tossing the ball irrespective of the ground or the pitch is why he picks up so many wickets. It’s simply must-watch television when Chahal has the ball in hand!

Chennai �?Deepak Chahar

Another Indian bowler that has been extremely consistent and reliable is Chennai's Deepak Chahar. He hasn’t picked as many wickets as he did last season in this campaign but he’s bowled terrific spells and has been the only bright spark in a rather tame Chennai bowling attack. So far, he has 10 wickets to his name in 10 matches and I can assure you that he’s deserved a few more for his tremendous discipline with line and length. Chennai are most certainly going to miss the playoffs, so Chahar has three matches left after the game vs Mumbai to prove why he is among India's finest in the shortest format of the game and I'm certain he'll be gunning to finish the season strong with a few more wickets to his name.

Rajasthan �?Sanju Samson

After a dismal run that saw him score just 77 runs in eight matches, Sanju Samson finally showed a glimpse of his immense talent that we had witnessed in the first two matches of the season, with a stylish 36 off 26 balls in his team’s defeat against Hyderabad. Samson looked a class above the rest of his teammates, which includes three World Cup winners in Steve Smith, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, but as has often been the case with him, he hasn’t been able to produce such innings with any sort of regularity, making it difficult to gauge his ceiling. Rajasthan and Samson have three games left to snatch an unlikely playoff spot, but if they are to pull off the improbable, they will need Samson to deliver with the bat.

Mumbai �?Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard has always been a streaky player for Mumbai and that’s mostly down to the team utilising him as a floater in their stacked batting line-up. However, this season, the big West Indian hasn’t let the shuffling affect his batting at all. Through nine matches, Pollard has had six outings with the bat and been dismissed only once, scoring 208 runs at a strike rate of exactly 200. While he possesses the ability to tank any ball past the boundary ropes, that has sometimes been his undoing too, but this season, I’ve seen a more measured Pollard, willing to take doubles, knock it around even at the death and put away any loose delivery on offer. He’s been terrific to watch this season and I'm expecting him to carry this form through what’s left of this season.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Rajasthan

We’re into the business end of this year’s Indian T20 League and regardless of the current circumstances, the tournament has duly managed to live up to its full potential. After some stunning round of fixtures from the first three games of the week, it’s time to look forward to what’s in store next. And having said that, I’m banking on these four players for the upcoming fixtures:

Rajasthan - Jos Buttler

A change in the batting order has worked wonders for Rajasthan and more so for Jos Buttler. Now arriving at No. 5, the England batsman has impressed one and all with his sheer intelligence, and I believe Hyderabad will be at the receiving end of more of the same. It took time for Buttler to assert his claim, but now that he has found his patch, I’m counting on him to be his team’s force in the middle order. An extravagant innings is all Buttler needed to get into his previous self, and Hyderabad will certainly have to be on their toes on Thursday.

Hyderabad - Jonny Bairstow

Jonny has been quite inconsistent this season, but the fact remains that if you give him even the slightest of edge, he will punish you brutally. He has scored 20+ runs in his last two appearances, but I feel there’s more in the offering from the Englishman. It’s quite strange to see him so down in the order of the highest-run scorers of the tournament, having scored 316 runs at 35.11. Against Rajasthan, all he needs to do is to survive the Archer blast in the Powerplay overs to get the momentum going. Once that is taken care of, he can rightly enjoy the rest of his innings.

Chennai - Deepak Chahar

Chennai take on Mumbai on Friday and the defending champions would love to take revenge in the second time of asking. Chennai are in a slump but a certain Deepak Chahar has enjoyed fruitful outings of late, picking two wickets for 18 runs in his last two games. Mumbai are arguably the favourites heading into the game but I’m counting on Deepak Chahar to make an impact for his team. His ability to restrict the opposition in tight situations is something that has impressed me the most, and I can see him delivering another such spell against Mumbai.

Mumbai - Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah looked extremely off-balance to me in the opening few games, but boy, how astonishing has he been in the last few games! He has, in fact, gone wicketless in just one of his last five outings, picking up a whopping 10 wickets during the period while also keeping the opposition in check. Chennai’s struggle provide Bumrah a great opportunity to close down the gap between him and the league’s highest wicket-taker, Kagiso Rabada. He is going to have a big say in the match.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / @josbuttler

Deepak Chahar is all set to rejoin his Chennai squad after recovering from the global virus. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who began his isolation period later than Chahar, however, continues to remain quarantined.

After losing the services of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh due to 'personal reasons' before the 2020 Indian T20 League season even started, the positive test result of Chahar and Gaikwad had thrown another wrench into the normally well-oiled machinery of last season's runners-up.

As he is just coming off the infection, before Chahar can begin training, he still has to undergo fitness tests such as a cardio test mandated by the BCCI's medical team.

Deeback Chahar! #WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/muWNCiB2KF

�?Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 9, 2020

"Except for the Indian batsman, who is in quarantine, all others have come out. The Indian fast bowler has tested negative twice and is back," team CEO Kasi Viswanathan told ESPNcricinfo.

Chennai's troubles started when, during the mandatory six-day quarantine period following touchdown in the UAE, 13 members, including support staff along with Chahar and Gaikwad, tested positive in the second of three compulsory tests. All 13 were moved to an isolation facility while the rest of the squad had their quarantine period extended and two more tests were added on top of the original three.

The rest of the squad was finally allowed to resume training last Friday (September 4) following negative results in the fifth test.

• Three replacements for Suresh Raina at CSK

Chennai is poised to open the tournament on September 19 playing against defending champions Mumbai in Dubai. The team is, however, yet to name replacements for Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Noah Seelam

Wicket-taking is an understated skill in a format where controlling the rate of scoring is more important than ever. T20 internationals have evolved much slower than franchise leagues, yet we have witnessed some mind-blowing bowling spells in T20Is.

We reminisce five of the best.

Deepak Chahar - 6 for 7 vs Bangladesh - 2019

Deepak Chahar left Bangladesh reeling at Nagpur in the final T20I of the three-match series between them and India in 2019. Chahar picked up the wickets of Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar off successive balls in the third over.

Read | Is Deepak Chahar's record-breaking haul due to MS Dhoni?

He then returned in the death overs to pick up a hat-trick and complete a six-fer, the second such haul by an Indian in this format. The miserly Chahar gave just seven runs in his 3.2 overs.

Ajantha Mendis - 6 for 8 vs Zimbabwe - 2012

Ajantha Mendis is fondly remembered for his mystery spin bowling. The Lankan spinner has wreaked havoc on several opponents in his prime and in 2012, he bettered his own record to finish with the best spell ever in T20Is.

Mendis had Zimbabwe reeling after coming in as the first-change bowler. He bowled two maidens and picked up six wickets in four overs whilst conceding just eight runs. Mendis' incredible spell saw Zimbabwe bowled out for a meagre 100 chasing 183.

Ajantha Mendis - 6 for 16 vs Australia - 2011

A year before the demolition of Zimbabwe, Mendis had set the record for the best spell in T20Is when he demolished Australia at Pallekele in a spell where he picked up six wickets for just 16 runs. A destructive opening stand of 71 in 5.1 overs by Shane Watson and David Warner was broken by Mendis as he picked up the wicket of Watson (24-ball 57).

Mendis went on to dismiss Warner and Shaun Marsh in his next over. He came back in the death to seal the game by picking up two wickets apiece in the 16th and 18th over respectively. 

Yuzvendra Chahal - 6 for 25 vs England - 2017

Yuzvendra Chahal snared the first six-wicket haul by an Indian in T20Is when he bamboozled England's batsmen at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, also his home ground in the IPL, while the visitors were chasing 203 for a win.

Chahal opened the attack alongside Ashish Nehra and picked up the wicket of Sam Billings in his first over. He came back after the powerplay and broke a crucial stand between Joe Root and Eoin Morgan by dismissing the two off successive balls. Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan were snared in his next as Chahal sealed the game with a haul of 6 for 25.

Rangana Herath - 5 for 3 vs New Zealand - 2014

In the T20 World Cup group stage game at Chattogram in 2014, Rangana Herath had New Zealand batsmen in a tangle with an outrageous spell of five for three. Chasing a paltry 120 to win on a slow deck, New Zealand had no answers to Herath's mind-blowing spell.

Three Kiwi batsmen - Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and James Neesham - were dismissed for a duck inside the powerplays as Herath picked up three wickets. He finished his haul with the scalps of Luke Ronchi and Trent Boult to close the game for Sri Lanka. New Zealand were bowled out for just 60 with Kane Williamson (42) the only man to make double digits.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe

India chased down a 200+ target for the third time in T20s as Virat Kohli played an atypical innings to eventually anchor the chase after it was set up at the top by KL Rahul. There were a few headline-worthy moments out on the field, as Kohli seemed more animated than usual, having staring matches and imitating celebrations but it all ended amicably.

Here are a few talking points from the first India vs West Indies T20 at Hyderabad:

Deepak Chahar's unlucky day

Deepak Chahar has had a sensational start to his T20I career. After snaring a hat-trick and a career-best haul in the death overs in his final T20I against Bangladesh, Chahar went on to dismiss Lendl Simmons off his second delivery in the game.

At that very point, Chahar had taken four wickets in his last five balls for India in T20Is. Since then, his day dwindled with Washington Sundar (twice) and Rohit Sharma putting down catches off his bowling. Chahar had Hetmyer miscuing to fine-leg where Sundar put down a catch. Pollard was then dropped twice as Chahar recorded figures of 4-0-56-1.

Sundar, Lewis and the sweep

Evin Lewis loves sweeping the spinners. At the first opportunity he gets to play the shot, Lewis is down on his knees to sweep. But it's a high risk shot for the West Indian as Mujeeb Ur Rahman showed in the series against West Indies last month. The off-spinner's modus operandi perhaps interested India as they used Sundar first up against Lewis.

But the off-spinner was wayward and ended up leaking boundaries against the left-hander. Bowling full and straight ought to have been the plan and when he finally managed to do so, Lewis was down to sweep and missed the ball entirely to be trapped in front.

Hetmyer and the Bangalore curse

Shimron Hetmyer was a prominent pick in Bangalore's kitty for the Indian T20 League. But the left-hander was handled in bizarre ways and came way to down the order to make an impact. Instead of righting his role in the side, Bangalore decided to let go of Hetmyer ahead of this year's auctions.

The left-hander, as though to question Virat Kohli and his side's thinking, started teeing off from the word go at Hyderabad. He hit Chahal and Jadeja, two of India's premier spinners, for two sixes apiece and completed a brilliant half-century to raise his stocks ahead of the auction.

The KL vs Dhawan debate settled?

India have long stuck to their preferred ODI opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in T20Is but the fact remains that while these two click in the 50-over format, in T20Is you need a big hitter at the top to maximise the powerplay overs.

KL Rahul, as he showed in the Indian T20 League in 2018 and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year, is most effective when he tees off at the start of an innings. At Hyderabad, as Kohli got stuck on 3 off 8 within the first six overs, Rahul made 31 in 18 balls.

His 40-ball 62 gave India the early impetus they needed to seal the run-chase. Would Dhawan have played a similar hand? From recent experiences, that seems an unlikely proposition and it could well point at which of the two India would prefer at the World Cup next year.

Virat Kohli's self-nudge

We know Virat Kohli is a supreme player in run-chases. But at Hyderabad, in a 200-plus run chase, he seemed completely out of sorts, edging and miscuing his shots before he decided to give himself a nudge.

When Kesrick Williams elbowed him accidentally on his follow-through, Kohli was furious at him. A flicked six and more shots you generally associate with the Indian skipper followed.

Having pumped himself up, Kohli went on to produce an extraordinary knock. From 3 off 9 balls and 20 off 20 balls, the skipper went on to make 94 in 50 balls with 6 sixes to finish the game off in style.

Feature image courtesy: Noah Seelam