Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who snared four wickets in the first ODI against the West Indies here, has credited new white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma for the performance, saying the star batter made him realise that the more googlies he bowled, the more effective his leg-breaks would become. India won the match by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. “We had spoken before the game. The thing which you said before the game, the thing I missed in South Africa, I didn’t bowl more googlies, so it was there in my mind,” Chahal told Rohit in an interview aired on ‘bcci.tv’.
“The hard-hitters decide that if the ball is in his area, he will go for the shot…so when you said, ‘the more googlies you bowl, your leg-spin will be more effective’. I bowled that to you in the nets and I realised it,” the 31-year-old explained.
According to Chahal, when he was not in the national team, he worked on changing his bowling angles.
“I changed my angles, there are slow wickets here. When I wasn’t there in the team, I pondered on what improvements can be made.
“I saw other bowlers, who became side-arm to bowl on these wickets. I noticed when I bowl in the nets, that the ball moves faster and you need more wrist,” he elaborated.
The Haryana-player, who took his 100th ODI wicket here on Sunday by dismissing Nicholas Pooran, said that it was a good feeling to get to the milestone.
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“It is a good feeling (to take 100 ODI wickets). There have been ups and downs in my five-year career but it is a good feeling that you take 100 wickets in any format, which is a big thing.
“I had never thought that it would happen so soon. I continued what I kept doing,” Chahal signed off.
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