Yuzvendra Chahal completes 150 IPL matches: Decoding his stats
What's the story
Rajasthan Royals' ace leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has completed 150 matches in the Indian Premier League. The RR vs Gujarat Titans match in the 2024 IPL marked his milestone. Chahal is among the notable performers in the tournament as he is currently the highest wicket-taker in IPL history. He is also closing in on 200 IPL wickets. Here we decode his stats.
Journey
Decoding Chahal's journey in IPL
Chahal made his IPL debut in 2013 for Mumbai Indians. He moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and served them until 2021. Rajasthan Royals secured his services for Rs. 6.5 crore in the 2022 auction event. The leg-spinner has been a formidable force in the middle overs, where he can restrict the flow of runs alongside taking key wickets.
Tally
Most wickets in IPL history
Chahal enters his 150th IPL game with 195 scalps at an average and economy rate of 21.26 and 7.64, respectively. Last year, he displaced Dwayne Bravo (183) at the summit of the wickets tally. Chahal currently has six four-wicket hauls in the IPL. His only fifer (5/40) came against the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022. His solitary IPL hat-trick also came in that match.
RCB
Most wickets for RCB
As mentioned, Chahal served RCB for eight seasons and returned with 139 wickets in 113 games, conceding runs at 7.58. No other bowler has taken 100 or more IPL wickets for the franchise. Notably, the leggie went wicket-less in his only outing for MI in the 2013 season. As RCB released Chahal after the 2021 event, IPL 2022 marked Chahal's debut for RR.
RR
Stellar numbers for RR
Chahal repaid the faith of RR management and bagged the purple cap in the 2022 season, claiming 27 wickets at 19.52. He was their highest wicket-taker last year as well, bagging 21 wickets at 20.57. The 33-year-old, who currently owns eight wickets this season, has raced to 56 wickets for RR at 18.71 (ER: 7.77). He is playing his 36th match for the franchise.
Milestone
Second-fastest to 150 IPL wickets
In 2022, Chahal became the second-fastest to reach 150 wickets in the IPL. He unlocked the achievement in his 118th inning. Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga remains the quickest to accomplish this feat (105 innings). Chahal also boasts the joint-best economy rate in an innings in IPL (1.50). He attained the feat in 2019 against CSK at Chepauk. He cracked figures of 4-1-6-1.