Chahal upbeat despite CSK heartbreak

Yuzvendra Chahal feels RCB's past experience of being in an almost do-or-die situation and managing to reach the playoffs, can help it turn its season around this time too.

Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling form will be vital to RCB's chances of recovering from a morale-denting defeat against CSK.

Against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday night, defending a total of 205, the wheels came off Royal Challengers Bangalore's bowling in spectacular fashion. It conceded 63 off 30 deliveries after having CSK reeling at four for 74 in the ninth over. 

Yuzvendra Chahal (two for 26) and Umesh Yadav (one for 23) - RCB's best bowlers on the night - bowled out before the death overs, exposing an otherwise inexperienced attack to a rampaging M. S. Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo.

Read: Middle-orders in focus as RCB takes on KKR

"They (M. S. Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu) knew which bowlers to go after," Chahal said.

"Last match, (Ambati) Rayudu and Mahi (Dhoni) bhai played very well. I was bowling the 14th over with the hopes of getting one of them out. 

"We knew a wicket then would mean they'll only have one proper batsman (Bravo) left. But both batters didn't take any risks and nudged the ball for ones and twos," he reasoned. 

Losing a game after doing everything right for 35 overs can have a serious bearing on a team's confidence but Chahal remains optimistic. 

"Yeah, it (losing to CSK) was tough on the boys but we still have eight games to go," he said before adding,"In 2017 and the year before that, we bounced back from a similar situation. Right now we're just focussing on the next game."

Asked about the nature of the Chinnaswamy track this season - there has been some assistance for the spinners - Chahal said, "The wicket is a little bit dry. We have been told it's a batting pitch. Also, it keeps raining here in Bangalore every now and then, so the surface is a little under prepared. 

"Even in the last game (against CSK) where we scored in excess of 200, there was good turn on offer for the spinners." 

The 27-year-old leggie, who has seven wickets from six games at 8.04, has adapted well to bowling at any stage of the innings. "It depends on the situation, sometimes I've bowled in the powerplay and sometimes, even after the six overs. I've even bowled in the 16th or the 17th over. It's for the captain to decide when he wants you to bowl," he noted.