IND vs SA 2022 | Changed my seam position to get back to my strengths, reveals Yuzvendra Chahal

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After returning figures of 3-20 to be fittingly adjudged Player of the Match in the third T20I versus South Africa, India’s Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed that he changed his seam position to bowl to his strengths. Chahal's magic helped India pull one back in the five-match series in Visakhapatnam.

India finally managed to secure a win under Rishabh Pant's captaincy on Tuesday in Visakhapatnam. After back-to-back defeats in the first two T20Is against South Africa, a defeat in the third game would bring a series defeat for Pant and his boys, However, at the end, it was a comprehensive victory for Men in Blue, who skittled Temba Bavuma's South Africa for a mere 131 in 19.1 overs after piling 179/5 batting first.

One of the main architects of India's victory was Yuzvendra Chahal, who seemed lacklustre in the first two matches. But the leg-spinner put on a scintillating show there in Visakhapatnam, returning excellent figures of 4-0-20-3, which includes wickets of Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen, and Heinrich Klaasen. Had Rishabh Pant not missed two catches behind the stumps off Chahal, the figures could have been even more impressive.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Chahal revealed the secret behind his success in the third T20I after two average outings. The 31-year-old revealed he tried to stick to his strengths as much as he could and because of that, he changed his seam position.

"I bowled a lot of sliders and bowled quicker in the previous matches. Today, I changed my seam position. Spinning and getting the ball to dip are my strengths. Today I tried to get it to turn and bowl slower. I tried to bowl to my strengths, I focused on that," Chahal said at the post-match presentation after winning the Player of the Match award.

"When batters try to reverse-sweep, it becomes tough for the bowlers. But now I have a second plan and set fields accordingly. I didn't bowl well in the previous game, the coach asked me to back up my strengths. The ground there (Rajkot) is bigger (*chuckles*)."

India will next take on South Africa on June 17 for the fourth T20I at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. 

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