When the going gets tough, the tough get going – is a maxim that applies best to Yuzvendra Chahal.

He was trolled brutally after India suffered successive losses to South Africa in the Delhi and Cuttack T20Is.

Twitter was full of comments about how Chahal reserves his best only for IPL matches.

For a sensitive soul like Chahal, these comments must have hurt.

But beneath that soft exterior lies a fighter who never gives up!

Chahal’s reply was perfect and it was delivered in the best place possible – the cricket pitch.

Chahal spins a web around SA

Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel destroyed the South African batting order, bundling them out to a measly 131.

It was a must win match for India and the bowlers performed when it mattered.

The wrist-spinner, who remained wicketless in the first two games, registered the magical figures of 3/20 in four overs.

Not surprisingly, he was awarded the player of the match award.

Thanks to Chahal, India defeated the tourists by 48 runs, to keep the series alive.

Nehra praises Chahal

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra publicly praised the change in Chahal’s bowling strategy during the third T20I.

“The Chahal we know, the aggressive wrist-spinner; that version of him was on display in Vizag.”

“The way he varies his pace and length, he did it today. Though Heinrich Klassen batted really well in the last game, Chahal probably would have thought later that what could have been done. But today, he completely bamboozled the batters.”

“By the time Chahal finished his three overs, South Africa were completely out of the game.”

“Miracles have happened in the past, Miller had scored 13 runs per over but it’s not possible to always do that.”

How Chahal did it

Chahal grabbed the wickets of Dwaine Pretorius (20), Rassie Van der Dussen (1) and Heinrich Klassen (29).

Van Dussen and Klassen were riding high after their match-winning innings in the first and second T20 matches.

But Chahal dismissed them cheaply and also explained how he did it.

“I bowled a lot of sliders and bowled quicker in the previous matches.”

“Today, I changed my seam position.”

“Spinning and getting the ball to dip are my strengths. Today I tried to get it to turn and bowl slower.”

“I tried to bowl to my strengths, I focused on that. When batters try to reverse-sweep, it becomes tough for the bowlers.”

This shows that Chahal is capable of self-correction when things go wrong.

This reveals his innate intelligence and inner strength.

We are now waiting to see the tricks Chahal has up his sleeve in Rajkot during the fourth T20I.

India trail South Africa 1-2 and once again, it a is a must-win match for the men in blue.