IND vs AUS | Learnt from my mistakes and followed the Zampa template to succeed, reveals Yuzvendra Chahal

Eyebrows were raised when Yuzvendra Chahal, who enjoyed an outstanding IPL, was initially left out of the starting XI, but destiny had other ideas as the leg-spinner played anyway, walking in as a concussion substitute for Ravindra Jadeja. The match referee’s decision to allow Chahal to play enraged Australia, and the leg-spinner added insult to injury by churning out a Man of the Match performance, picking the wickets of Finch, Smith and Wade to help India to a 11-run victory.

Chahal bounced back emphatically after getting pasted in the ODIs, and speaking post match, the 30-year-old revealed that the secret to his success was him learning from his own mistakes. The leggie revealed that he also learnt from his counterpart Adam Zampa, who was the pick of all bowlers in the ODI series.

“The way Zampa bowled, I tried to do the same as well. It was a little harder to score in the first innings. 150-160 is a good score on this wicket. I bowled according to my plans,” Chahal said in the post match presentation.

It is one thing to play as a concussion substitute, it is another to be the best performer for your side despite not having taken to the field for an entire innings. Chahal revealed that he got to know that he was playing only 15 mins prior to the restart, but claimed that the freedom, the lack of pressure helped him to give his best out in the middle.

“I have played so many games and was mentally fit. 10-15 minutes before the start of the innings, I got to know I will play.”

The teams will travel to Sydney for the 2nd T20I, which will be played on Sunday, December 6.