Anil Kumble Hails Yuzvendra Chahal After Match-Winning Spell vs GT: "Kept Bowling Slightly Wider"

Legendary India leg-spinner Anil Kumble praised Yuzvendra Chahal's tactical nous in helping Punjab Kings beat Gujarat Titans by three wickets in IPL 2026, adding that his taking out Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler came at the right time for the side to start their campaign on a high. Chahal's spell of 2-28, along with Vijaykumar Vyshak's 3-34, ensured PBKS kept GT to 162/8, which they chased down with five balls to spare. “Yuzvendra Chahal is very smart. He changes his line, length, varies his speeds, you name it. He didn't try too many variations in terms of how he set up the batter.

“He kept bowling slightly wider and was very smart in that sense. He looked at the conditions and then aimed for the bigger side of the ground. He knew that if someone had to take him on that side, they had to connect really well, which they couldn't.

“He got a wicket, and those wickets of Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler came at the right time for Punjab Kings, because Gill was looking good to capitalise on a strong start. Unfortunately for GT, their usual approach of having one batter anchor through 15 overs, which generally gives them an advantage, didn't quite work out,” said Kumble on JioHotstar.

Kumble also questioned GT's use of pacer Prasidh Krishna, who was introduced only in the 13th over, saying the Purple Cap holder from last year's season should have been bowled earlier in the innings.

“It was very surprising that the Gujarat Titans brought in Prasidh Krishna, the Purple Cap holder, only in the 13th over. The first one, of course, was a lucky breakthrough. Shreyas Iyer had been hit on the hand a couple of balls earlier, so maybe there was a loss in concentration.

“It was a half-volley -- he wanted to pick it up and hit it straight to the fielder. Then there was a very good ball to get Shashank Singh, that short length troubled all batters throughout the game, and Prasidh found that very early in his spell. But he was brought in too late in the innings, because you rarely have a bowler bowl all four overs in the last eight overs of the innings.

“You can't hold him back like that, and that's why the last over of Prasidh Krishna went for 14 runs. For GT's sake, Prasidh should have possibly bowled at least one over between the 6th and 10th overs, because he was ideally suited to that surface,” he added.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Punjab Kings Gujarat Titans Yuzvendra Chahal Anil Kumble IPL 2026 Cricket