Rajasthan Royals spinner Yuzvendra Chahal put in an amazing display as they edged Kolkata Knight Riders by just seven runs in a high-scoring thriller on Monday in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The experienced leggie took five wickets, including a hat-trick, to derail KKR's chase of 218. Although he already got the crucial wicket of in-form Nitish Rana earlier, it was the 17th over of KKR's innings when Chahal turned the game on its head. He got Venkatesh Iyer stumped off the first delivery of the over and then sent Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins packing off the final three balls of the over to claim his hat-trick and five-wicket haul.
After getting his hat-trick wicket, Chahal was visibly thrilled, and after jumping in the air and pumping his fist, he slid on the ground and pulled off the pose in which he was clicked during the 2019 World Cup - a photo that became a viral meme.
Watch: Yuzvendra Chahal's cheeky celebration after taking a hat-trick
Here are some reactions to his celebration:
Chahal's heroics with the ball came after Jos Buttler set up a formidable total for his team with his second century of the season. The English opener slammed 103 off 61 deliveries, and was aided by cameos from Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer as Rajasthan Royals posted 217/5 in their 20 overs.
Chahal has been in top form this season and already has 17 wickets in the bag from six matches, making him the leading wicket-taker so far. The next best bowler is T Natarajan, with 12 wickets.