"Another day remembering that RCB left Chahal and paid 10+ cr to 3d Hasaranga" - Fans hail RR spinner for sensational spell against MI in IPL 2024

Rajasthan Royals (RR) spinner Yuzvendra Chahal continued to weave magic with the ball in the side's third game of the IPL 2024 season against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on April 1.

Chahal picked up incredible figures of 3/11 in his four overs to help RR restrict MI to a below-par total of 125/9 in 20 overs. After the left-arm pace duo of Trent Boult and Nandre Burger had MI reeling at 20/4, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya staged a sensational recovery.

The pair added 56 for the fifth wicket in only 36 deliveries before Chahal deceived Hardik in the flight to break the stand and dismiss the batter for 34. The wily leg spinner then returned to dismiss the other crucial wicket of Tilak Varma for 32 in the 13th over to leave MI in disarray at 95/7 in the 14th over.

Chahal finally put exclamation point with his third wicket of the evening, removing Gerald Coetzee. Already the leading wicket-taker in IPL history, the veteran spinner increased his tally to a remarkable 193 wickets in 148 outings.

He has been at his relentless best this season, with six scalps in three games at an average of 9.17 and an economy of 5.50.

Chahal's outstanding performance against MI had fans on Twitter praising the spinner and questioning his consistent exclusion from the Indian T20I side.

Here are some of the best reactions:

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RR bowlers stun MI in their first home game of IPL 2024

Led by an excellent all-round bowling performance, RR restricted MI to a below-par 125/9 in their first home game on the usually high-scoring Wankhade Stadium.

The five-time IPL champions saw three of their top four batters, Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, and Dewald Brevis, dismissed for golden ducks. Trent Boult was the wrecker in chief, picking up all three batters to reduce MI to 14/3 in the third over.

Eventually, Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal joined the party to combine for five wickets as RR put on a bowling and fielding exhibition, much to the disgust of the Mumbai crowd.

The side is coming off winning their opening two games against the Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals. Meanwhile, MI suffered defeats in their opening two outings against the Gujarat Titans and SunRisers Hyderabad to get off to the worst possible start under new captain Hardik Pandya.

RR's reply hasn't begun particularly well with the in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal falling in the first over of the chase for 10 off 6 deliveries.