Former India batter Aakash Chopra was over the moon at the sight of Mumbai Indians spinner Piyush Chawla foxing Rajasthan Royals batter Devdutt Padikkal in the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2023 Match 42 at the Wankhede Stadium. One of the leading commentators for streaming platform Jio Cinema, Chopra was calling the match when Chawla picked his second wicket in as many overs.
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A ball pitching on the middle-stump forced the left-handed batter to go on the back foot only for him to be deceived. Padikkal, who appeared to be expecting the ball to turn into him, completely misread the line. With his off-stump completely exposed, Chawla’s guile proved to be too difficult to handle for him.
“Arre, wah PC [Piyush Chawla] wah! Old is gold,” Chopra said with delight on Hindi commentary to describe Padikkal’s dismissal at the time.
Piyush Chawla Googly Foxes Devdutt Padikkal at Wankhede Stadium
Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the previous over, Padikkal returned back to the pavilion after scoring 2 (4). Introduced into the attack in the eighth over, Chawla dismissed Padikkal after picking the all-important first wicket of Jos Buttler (18) with the first ball that he bowled in the match.
Chawla, who picked bowling figures of 4-0-34-2 on a Sunday night, is currently the fifth-highest (highest for Mumbai) wicket-taker in the ongoing 16th season of the biggest T20 competition in the world. Into his maiden IPL season for this franchise, Chawla has dismissed 13 batters in eight matches at an average of 17.38, an economy rate of 7.29 and a strike rate of 14.30 this season.
Piyush Chawla Retirement: Has Mumbai Indians’ Spinner Retired From International Cricket?
No. Chawla hasn’t retired from any form of cricket thus far. While the last of his 35 matches across formats for India had come over 11 years ago, the 34-year player remains an active domestic campaigner for Gujarat (after a decorated career for Uttar Pradesh).
Unsold during IPL 2022 auction, Chawla was part of host broadcaster Star Sports Network’s commentary team in the last season. Having said that, Indians bought him for his base price of INR 50 lakh during IPL 2023 auction in December.
