ESPNcricinfo Awards Men's T20 leagues bowling winner: it's loopy, it's deadly, it's Yuzy

Chahal had managed just three wickets in six games in the 2023 IPL season before this match, in which Royals had a steep 214 to defend. Though they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a no-ball on what would have been the last ball of the innings, Chahal's figures stood out in a game where the teams scored 431 runs between them.

Three of Chahal's four overs were tough ones - the last of the powerplay and two at the death - and he struck in each to remove hard-hitting batters. As the chase got tense, he upped his game, fearlessly bowling loopy legbreaks to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen and Rahul Tripathi. A flatter one did the trick in the 18th over for Aiden Markram's reverse sweep, a mere three runs coming off that over.

It might seem that the wickets of Markram and a well-set Tripathi were more pivotal because they came in the 18th over, but it was in the 16th that Chahal stepped it up against Klaasen after being hit for a six and a four. Under pressure, he took the risk of tossing the ball up and reaped the reward when Klaasen mistimed the ball to long-off. The game started to turn and Chahal's confidence started to surge.

183 The record for most IPL wickets was held by Dwayne Bravo until this game; Chahal went level with his fourth wicket. He got there in fewer overs, with a better average and a lower economy rate.

11 Dot balls bowled by Chahal, who had an economy rate of 7.25, both the best in the game.

146.84 Total impact points under ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats metrics, for Chahal that evening. The next best was Jos Buttler's 72.49 for his 95 runs off 59 balls.

Jason Behrendorff
4 for 25 vs Hobart Hurricanes, BBL, Perth
Across formats, what do you want from a new-ball bowler? Behrendorff delivered exactly that for Scorchers when he struck on consecutive balls in his first over, using bounce and inswing to his advantage, before taking the big wicket of Tim David in his second to leave Hurricanes limping. When they started to build off Nikhil Chaudhary's knock in the middle overs, Behrendorff returned to dismiss him too, reducing them to 103 for 6.