Need To Always Be On Your Toes In Twenty20s: Yuzvendra Chahal

Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who impressed in the first Twenty20 that India lost to England, said on Saturday that T20 is a format in which a player always needs to be on his toes. Chahal is also of the opinion that playing in big grounds gives confidence to a spinner to flight the deliveries to create confusion in the minds of batsmen. India take on England in the second T20 at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, one of the bigger stadiums in the country.

"A Big ground makes a difference. You can flight the ball. Also there's a doubt in batsman's mind as to which ball to hit and he will have to make a choice. In a small ground, batsman can try hitting every ball, but here he has to pick and choose," said Chahal

The boundary at the VCA Stadium is about 75 yards out, at least 10 yards more than Green Park, Kanpur where the first T20 was played.

The 26-year-old was India's most impressive bowler during their seven wicket defeat against England in the first T20.

Chahal said he remained confident even when the English batsmen were going for big shots against him and saw it as an opportunity to take wickets.

"We have not discussed (bowling strategy), but the way they batted in the previous game gives a plus point to the bowlers as they were trying to hit each and every ball. I got hit for a six on the first ball and then I got a wicket (of Roy).

"You have got six balls while the batsman has just one ball. You have to plan accordingly because T20 is such a quick format where you have to be on your toes always as you don't what will happen next," said the spinner.

Chahal took the wickets of Jason Roy and Sam Billings in quick succession to bring India back into the game after the two English openers had given their side a fiery start. However, India failed to cash-in as Eoin Morgan and Joe Root steadied England's innings and batted the hosts out of the game.

Chahal, who was playing his first match after being a part of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led second string team in Zimbabwe, admitted that he was a bit nervous before bowling his first over in Kanpur.

"This was my first series after the tour of Zimbabwe, and that too at home. I was a bit nervous at the start. After bowling the first over I gained confidence. Playing in India, the ground is always full and there is pressure of the home crowd, but things became better although I was a bit nervous in the beginning," said Chahal, who ended with figures of two for 27 in four overs.

(With PTI Inputs)