New Chandigarh, March 31 Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said that using smart variations and bowling at the right pace helped him control the middle overs as Punjab Kings (PBKS) restricted Gujarat Titans (GT) to 162/6 in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the PCA's New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Chahal was one of the standout performers with the ball, taking 2 wickets for 28 runs in his four overs and providing crucial breakthroughs at a key stage of the innings. His most important wicket came in the 10th over when he dismissed captain Shubman Gill, who had been looking in good form after a steady start. This dismissal helped Punjab regain control after a strong power play from Gujarat.
Reflecting on his approach, Chahal explained how he assessed the conditions early and adapted accordingly.
“Definitely, when I saw the wicket in the evening, I thought it would be dry. And when the fast bowlers start bowling cutters, I like a bit of grip. You need to be able to bowl at the right pace and line to get the batters. I varied my pace and line, starting with some wide deliveries and then moving to the stumps line. Then I took a chance to get Shubman and put pressure on him,” he said.
The leg-spinner also emphasized the importance of the powerplay phase, noting how scoring becomes more difficult as the innings progresses. “The powerplay is very important; it's easy to score runs with the new ball, but it gets harder as the ball gets older,” he added.
Gujarat Titans had started well through Gill and Sai Sudharsan, scoring freely in the early overs. However, Punjab Kings fought back strongly in the middle phase, with Chahal playing a key role in slowing the scoring rate and building pressure.
With this performance, Chahal further strengthened his record as the most successful bowler in the middle overs (7-15) in IPL history. He now has 138 wickets in this phase at an average of 25.34, ahead of Ravindra Jadeja (136), Piyush Chawla (132), Amit Mishra (126), and Rashid Khan (102).