'This' Indian Spinner Took 5 Wickets In His Debut Match To Help His Side Win Single-handedly

Seasoned campaigner and India's prolific spinner made a remarkable debut for Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the One-Day Cup match against Kent Spitfires in Canterbury on Wednesday. He picked the fifer in his first game of the ongoing season.

Hyderabad: Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal made a stunning debut for Northamptonshire in the final round of the England's domestic 50-over tournament - Royal London One-Day Cup. He claimed a five-wicket haul in his 10 overs, which included five maidens, conceding just 14 runs on Wednesday, August 14. Chahal played a vital role in his side's triumph against his former team, Kent, who were bowled out for 82 in 35.1 overs.

Chahal displayed incredible discipline in his bowling and secured two of his five wickets by trapping Jaydn Denly and Beyers Swanepoel in front of the stumps. He deceived the middle-order batter Ekansh Singh, who left his crease to reach closer to the pitch of the ball, but was well short of it and the wicket-keeper did the rest, while Grant Stewart and Nathan Gilchrist were caught. This was Chahal's sixth instance of taking five wickets in List A cricket. Remarkably, Chahal had previously taken nine wickets in two matches during the One-Day Cup while playing for Kent in 2023.

The 34-year-old's signing with Northamptonshire was finalised only hours before the one-day game on Wednesday. He joined his India teammate Prithvi Shaw at the franchise, who has been in excellent form, scoring 344 runs in eight matches in the white-ball tournament.

In addition to the white-ball tournament, the leg-spinner is scheduled to play in five County Championship matches for Northamptonshire during his stint in the United Kingdom. The leg-spinner is aiming for a comeback into the senior national team after missing the tours of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Chahal was part of India's T20 World Cup squad in the USA and the West Indies but did not get a game during India's successful campaign. He even didn't get a chance to represent the country in warm-up games.

Chahal has also not been picked in any of the four squads for the first round of the Duleep Trophy announced on Wednesday.