Chawla finally finds form for Punjab

It took 11 games for Piyush Chawla to finally show up. In the ten games prior to this, he bled 55 runs per wicket at 8.33 an over, all for just five wickets. His selection for the ICC World Twenty20 ahead of the tournament's leading wicket-takers, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha, flummoxed many. It took a long time coming, but for once, sixes didn't fly off his bowling and the batsmen treated him with a bit more respect.

The result was three wickets for 24 in a straight spell of four overs. He was fortunate to be bowling in conditions which suited him. Though the pitch didn't take much turn, the slowness assisted bowlers like him and Ramesh Powar, who bowled out their overs in one spell. Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara realised that spin was the best option after the seamers got tonked by Ambati Rayudu. Mumbai had raced to 45 for none before Chawla came on.

A change of pace brought about an immediate shift in momentum, as Chawla breached Rayudu's defences with a topspinner. An alert and brilliant stumping by Sangakkara sent back Saurabh Tiwary but the trophy wicket was undoubtedly Sachin Tendulkar's. Having progressed to 25, he attempted a wild slog off Chawla but lost his middle stump to a straighter delivery. Re-run the tapes to 2005 and it was at this very venue where Chawla had Tendulkar stumped off a sharp legbreak during the Challenger Trophy. Not surprisingly, it was the 16-year-old Chawla's claim to fame.

Thanks to Chawla's spell, Mumbai could only push to 154, which wasn't competitive enough.