Rajasthan Royals leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal picked up the first hat-trick of IPL 2022, setting up his side’s narrow seven-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai on Monday (April 18). Chahal celebrated his hat-trick in a unique style, slipping into a pose which is a famous meme on Twitter since the 2019 World Cup.


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“My celebration was based on the meme that came from the 2019 World Cup. My plan was going wide and full to the right handers,” Chahal said during the post-match presentation.


Chahal, who was declared the Player of the Match, overshadowed some brilliant batting by Shreyas Iyer (85) and Aaron Finch (58) to claim his first hat-trick in IPL. Having dismissed Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer earlier, the 31-year-old from Haryana claimed a brilliant 5/40 for his best figures of this season.


It looked like KKR were cruising to victory after opener Aaron Finch struck a quick-fire 58 of 28 balls and skipper Shreyas Iyer, who hammered 85 off 51 deliveries. Both Finch and Shreyas shared a partnership of 106 runs for the second wicket in quick time.


“I had to take wickets in this match to change the result. I worked on my bowling. I spoke to the coaches and the skipper,” said Chahal on Monday.


Watch Yuzvendra Chahal's celebration after claiming a hat-trick here...



Asked what was going in his mind as he shaped up to bowl the hat-trick delivery, Chahal said he thought of bowling a googly but changed his mind at the last moment. “I was thinking of a googly but then I didn’t want to take a chance. Would have been a happy with a dot ball as well on my hat-trick ball,” said Chahal.


The leggie said he changed his decision on the spur of the moment even though his googly was coming off well and had claimed him a wicket a few overs earlier. “My googly was coming out well and sent it down to Venkatesh Iyer,” he said.


Chahal turned the match on its head by claiming the 21st hat-trick of Indian Premier League (IPL) as he dismissed Shreyas Iyer, trapped lbw trying to whip a delivery pitching on the middle. On the next delivery of the 17th over, Chahal had Shivam Mavi caught by Riyan Parag and completed his hat-trick when Pat Cummins edged back to Sanju Samson – going off for a lengthy celebration with a leap and a slide.


Chahal claimed the 21st hat-trick in IPL history and though Umesh Yadav and Sheldon Jackson took it close, Rajasthan Royals eventually pulled off a memorable win.


(with IANS inputs)