cricket

Updated: Nov 11, 2019 19:20 IST

Deepak Chahar was the star performer for the Indian cricket team on Sunday as the hosts defeated Bangladesh by 30 runs in Nagpur to clinch the three-match T20I series 2-1. The medium pacer finished the match with a hat-trick to bowl out Bangladesh for 144 in 19.2 overs while chasing 175 for victory. Chahar also became the first Indian bowler to get a T20I hat-trick and he went past Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis, who had figures of 6-8 against Zimbabwe in 2012. It was a brilliant show from the youngster who has made a name for himself in the last few months and in a recent interview, he revealed the conversation he had with skipper Rohit Sharma.

“He told me I will use you as a Bumrah today. I will bowl you in the crucial overs and that was motivating for me. I love it when I am given responsibility under pressure because that makes me feel that I am being trusted. I feel bad when nobody trusts me. To get that confidence from the captain felt good at that stage of the game,” he told IANS.

READ: After Nagpur heroics, Chahar jumps 88 places in T20I Rankings

The World T20 is going to take place next year and fans have started labelling Chahar as a firm favourite to be picked for the squad alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Chahar has admitted that he has the World Cup in mind but is not thinking about it much as it is still 11 months away.

“World T20 is about 11 months away and that is a long time. Obviously I have that in the mind and we are looking to win the trophy, but as a sportsman you can’t think so far as there is a lot of international cricket before that as well as the IPL,’ Chahar said.

‘I want to gain more trust from the management till then and there will be times where I will get hit and I want to still gain the trust of the team so that they support me. Performing in every match is the goal.’

READ: Snubbed by Greg Chappell, honed by MS Dhoni: The Deepak Chahar story

“I take every game as the last as the competition is very high and the fast bowling unit is doing really well. Cementing your place in this team is very tough, so I look to perform every time I get an opportunity,” he signed off.

Earlier, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul struck brisk half centuries to help India post 174-5 in their 20 overs after Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah won the toss and chose to bowl. Iyer smashed 62 off just 33 balls while Rahul made 52 from 35. In reply, Bangladesh lost Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar in successive deliveries to Chahar early to get off to a false start in their chase and were finally all out for 144 to go down 2-1 in the series.

(With agency inputs)