Why Yuzvendra Chahal Hasn't Been Impactful So Far vs South Africa?

Yuzvendra Chahal has conceded 75 runs in 6.1 overs vs South Africa in the first two games.

Yuzvendra Chahal had a memorable Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 where he bagged the most wickets - 27 - in 17 innings he bowled. Chahal was also backed to continue with the same form against South Africa as well in the home series. 

However, in the first two games of the five-match T20I series, Chahal has looked out of sorts where he has conceded 75 runs in just 6.1 overs he has bowled so far while taking just one wicket. 

The two matches were held in two different conditions. While Delhi was a flat track, Cuttack had a bit of grip but the common point was neither of them had a lot of turn and the spinners had to rely on speed variations and accuracy. 

However, it is interesting how Chahal has not been able to make even a slight impact and yesterday's pitch had enough grip that such an experienced leg-spinner shouldn't have conceded 49 runs in his four overs. 

Chahal's case helps us understand an interesting part of how bowlers work and how to make the most of the bowlers using their strengths. 

In less than a month ago, Chahal was bowling superbly and even those conditions weren't that favorable for spinners. What made Chahal so successful was the availability of one of the best off-spinners in the modern era - R Ashwin. 

While Ashwin is an aggressive test match bowler, he has understood that bowling off-spin aggressively in the T20 format isn't the best choice on most days. 

What is aggressive bowling in T20 cricket? 

The best way to know that if a spinner is bowling aggressively is by looking at the loop he gives to the ball to lure the batter to attack. When a bowler is bowling defensively, the ball is in a flatter trajectory and back of the length. 

So Rajasthan Royals got Ashwin for defensive bowling and Chahal for aggressive bowling. Also, they had two variations as well - off-spin and leg-spin. 

However, it's not only that. Rajasthan bowled Ashwin and Chahal in tandem. Whenever Ashwin bowled, Chahal came next and vice versa. But on most occasions, they didn't over bowl them. 

For example, in the qualifier 2, Ashwin was introduced in the 8th over, and then Chahal came onto bowl in the 9th and Ashwin was back in the 10th. Then after one over break, Ashwin bowled 12th over and Chahal 13th. After another over break, Chahal bowled 15th, Ashwin 16th, and Chahal 17th. 

That's been the pattern for most of the matches in the season. Ashwin's presence helped Chahal pick wickets. Ashwin created pressure from one end and Chahal lured the batters in the next over to attack. 

Chahal finished IPL 2022 with an economy of 7.75 while Ashwin bowled at an economy of 7.5. Chahal picked 27 wickets, Ashwin 12. Two spinners who kept complimenting each other. 

Now, in this series, Chahal is paired with Axar Patel. While Axar too is a defensive type bowler but the left-arm spinner hasn't been able to provide the control Ashwin used to give to Chahal. Axar has bowled five overs this series and conceded 11.9 rpo. In return, Chahal has also gone for more than 12 an over in six overs he bowled. Both Axar and Chahal have picked a wicket each so far. 

Another possible reason neither of them have been impactful is that both of them are similar types of bowlers, ie, both turn the ball away from right-handers and into the left-hander. Once South African batters understood one bowler, they don't have to make much of an effort to get set against the other. And of course, the wickets haven't helped the spinners either.