"Selection For T20 World Cup...": What Deepak Chahar Said After Helping India Defeat Zimbabwe
Deepak Chahar, who made his return after sitting on the sidelines since February, took three wickets in the first ODI against Zimbabwe on Thursday
The KL Rahul-led Team India did not have any problem in brushing aside the challenge of Zimbabwe in the first ODI of the three-match series on Thursday as the visitors chased down a below-par total of 190 with ten wickets in hand and 115 balls to spare. Opening batters Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan remained unbeaten on 82 and 81 respectively as India wrapped up a comprehensive win.
The victory's foundation was laid by the bowlers and they repaid the faith shown by captain KL Rahul after he opted to bowl first. Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, and Axar Patel returned with three wickets each as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 189 inside 41 overs. After the victory, pacer Deepak Chahar addressed a press conference, where he spoke about the performance and how a complete all-round effort helped the visitors.
"Every time you make a comeback, it is important for any player to score runs, and take wickets. I was out with an injury for almost six months so I was looking for an opportunity to come and perform. I knew I will be making my comeback in this series, I played all the practice games, and I was bowling more than six overs. The day I started bowling, the first session I bowled was six overs," said Chahar.
"When you know you are going to play ODIs, your workload is like that. Before coming here, I played in two-three practice games and I bowled ten overs so yeah. It is difficult because you expect so much from yourself, you want to make a place for yourself. If you are not playing for a long time, other guys get the chance and they perform well so they create a place for themselves. If you want to cement your place, you have to give performances on a consistent basis, the pressure is always there on a bowler. The player can just perform and it is the only thing in your control," he added.
Further talking about his long injury lay-off, Chahar said: "The selection for the T20 World Cup is not in my control, I do not know whether I will be selected or not. But skill-wise, I have worked really hard. Today, I bowled okay, I bowled seven overs on the trot, so my fitness is also okay."
Talking about the win against Zimbabwe, Chahar said: "If you get 3-4 wickets of the opposition early, then it is difficult for any team to win the game from there. Batters have to play extra-ordinary innings from there to set an extra-ordinary target. The wicket is quite good here, the only help you get from the wicket is early in the morning. When you lose the toss, and you lose wickets early on, then no team can really win the game from there. They were 50-5 and they scored 189, so it was good for them."
India Cricket Team
Zimbabwe Cricket Team