Chahar claims best-ever figures in T20I cricket
Chahar also became the first Indian to bag a T20 hat-trick.
A dominant performance by India saw them thrash Bangladesh by 30 runs in the final T20I match at Nagpur. The stars of the match were the youngsters in the side - Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Shivam Dube. Iyer and Chahar stood tall and delivered the decisive blow. With this win, the hosts claimed the series 2-1.
While Iyer slammed his maiden 50, Chahar ended the innings with a hat-trick and in the process ended with figures of 6 for 7, which is now the best-ever figures for any bowler in this format. Also, Chahar became the first Indian to bag a T20 hat-trick.
Indian bowlers with hat tricks:
Tests: Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan
ODIs: Chetan Sharma, Kapil Dev, Kuldeep Yadav & Mohammed Shami
T20Is: Deepak Chahar
Speaking at the end of the match, Chahar said that he never anticipated this would happen, but said that he was willing to put his hand up and get the job done for his side.
"I never thought of this, not even in my dreams. I have been trying to work hard since my childhood and my efforts have paid off. Rohit was planning to give me the crucial overs and the management wanted to do the same. I always focus on the next ball, I keep doing that, until I don't complete my spell," he said at the post match press conference.
Another star of the match was Shreyas Iyer and the young man conceded that he had to stick it out at the start of the innings after which he assessed the pace of the pitch which helped him accelerate and attack the spinners.
"To be honest it wasn't an even innings. It was dicey at the start. It was really tough for me to analyse the wicket. Once I got in I thought I would give myself some time, it really worked out for me today. I have done it (the big hitting) in the past and you need to back yourself in those situations. We needed a partnership at that time; I saw that their part-timer had come on and decided to go after him. I have been backing my instincts in the last couple of seasons. I am really happy with the consistency so far. It was really important for us to be in this tough situation as we have not been in such a situation before. I am really happy with the support we have got. This is a once in a lifetime experience and hopefully we carry forward the momentum," Iyer said.
