Veteran Indian spinner Piyush Chawla, currently representing Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) revealed on Friday that his resurgence in the current season means a lot not only because it marks his comeback, but also that he wanted to play for his six-year-old son, who has never seen him play at the highest level. Following the 27-run win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Akash Madhwal said that his skipper Rohit Sharma asked him to start off with some hard length balls and concentrate on accuracy.
“Well, I just wanted to make a comeback because that urge was there to play. Earlier, I never used to go to all the camps, but this year I attended all the camps. Gujarat Cricket Association helped me a lot, and Parthiv Patel helped me a lot. After that, I played in all the tournaments, DY Patil, Mushtaq Ali, and Vijay Hazare. I wanted to bowl in the matches, at the nets I have bowled enough,” said Chawla in an interaction with JioCinema after the match.
“It means a lot (this season) because it’s not only about the comeback. I wanted to play for my son as well because he had not seen me playing. When he saw me, he was too young. Now he has started understanding it better although he is still 6. But he really follows the game and understands the game. So I really wanted to play the game and do something special for him. He reviews the game immediately after the game. He sits with me or over a phone call. He is my biggest critic.” the veteran leg-spinner revealed.
Piyush is having a wonderful season as a part of MI in IPL 2023, having taken 19 wickets at an average of 18.78 and an economy rate of 7.59. His best figures are 3/22. He is enjoying his best IPL season ever at the age of 34. He is the third-highest wicket-taker this season. Piyush last represented India in 2012.
With 176 wickets, he is the third highest wicket taker of all time in IPL.
He was not a part of IPL 2022 and had played just one game in the 2021 edition of the league with MI.
Being put to bat first by GT, MI put up 218/5 on the board in their 20 overs. Openers Ishan Kishan (31 off 20 balls) and skipper Rohit Sharma (29 off 18 balls) provided a quick start with a quick 61-run opening stand.
However, Rashid Khan removed the openers and Nehal Wadhera (15) to reduce MI to 88/3. From there, it was a ‘Suryakukar Yadav show’. He put on a 65-run stand for the fourth wicket with Vishnu Vinod (30 off 20 balls). Suryakumar ended up scoring his maiden IPL century, a knock of 103* in 49 balls with 11 fours and six sixes.
Rashid Khan (4/30) was the pick of the bowlers for GT. Mohit Sharma got a wicket as well.
Chasing 219, GT lost wickets right from the start. They were reduced to 55/5, despite a knock of 29 runs from Vijay Shankar. But a partnership of 45 runs between David Miller (41 in 26 balls) and Rahul Tewatia (14 in 13 balls) helped GT reach three figures.
Following their dismissal, it was Rashid Khan who kept the fight going. Even if the side looked out of the contest, his sixes helped in lowering the margin and did not let his side’s net run rate take a hit.
The Afghan all-rounder slammed 79* in just 32 balls, consisting of three fours and 10 sixes. He put on an 88-run stand for the ninth wicket with Alzarri Joseph (7*) to take GT to 191/8 in their 20 overs. MI won the match by 27 runs.
Akash Madhwal (3/31) was the pick of the bowlers for MI. Piyush Chawla (2/36) also contined his impressive run in IPL 2023. Jason Behrendorff got a wicket as well.
Suryakumar won the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his match-winning century.
With this win, MI is at the third position in the points table with seven wins and five losses. They have a total of 12 points. GT is still at the top with eight wins and four losses. They have a total of 16 points.
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