IPL 2021: Chahal is back to his best after a layoff, reckons Virat Kohli

Abu Dhabi [UAE], October 6 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli praised Yuzvendra Chahal after the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 encounter here at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

SRH defeated RCB by four runs as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jason Holder, Siddarth Kaul, Umran Malik, and Rashid Khan picked one wicket each for SRH while Devdutt Padikkal and Glenn Maxwell played innings of 41 and 40 respectively for the RCB.

Virat Kohli at the post-match presentation said: "I don't think so, the intent has to get it done as soon as possible. Having lost a couple of early wickets, rebuilding was key. Maxi's run-out was a game-changing moment. With AB you are never out of the game, but it is about making sure that the guy who's in flow should be on strike. Not as effective when chasing that down. Shahbaz [Ahmed] played a crucial knock at that stage, it is a game of small margins, I think Sunrisers held their nerve and bowled out their last few deliveries pretty well to not allow us to get us those big hits we were looking for."

Kohli then praised Chahal and SRH's pace sensation, Umran Malik, after he clocked 153kph to bowl the fastest delivery of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

"He's bowling pretty well now, looks like he's worked on his bowling after all the time off and is back to the bowling way we know he can. Him bowling well has always been a good sign for the team. He's been magnificent with the ball [on Yuzvendra Chahal's resurgence]. This tournament throws up talent every year, good to see a guy bowling at 150 clicks [on Umran Malik]. It is important to understand the progress of individuals from here on. The pool of fast bowlers being strong is always a good sign for Indian cricket and whenever you see talent like this, you are going to have your eyes on them and make sure you maximise their potential which is already being seen at the IPL level," he said.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was restricted to the score of 141/7 as Harshal Patel scalped three wickets while Dan Christian and George Garton returned with two and one respectively. Yuzvendra Chahal also bagged one wicket. Jason Roy and Kane Williamson played innings of 44 and 31 respectively as SRH reigned supreme in a low-scoring thriller. (ANI)