Ignored India spinner Rahul Chahar recorded his career-best figures in first-class cricket and racked up 7 wickets for Surrey in their clash against Hampshire. This was Chahar's debut match in County Cricket and he left everyone impressed with a stunning display with the ball. The 26-year-old, who has played just one ODI and six T20Is for India, absolutely dominated against opposing batters on the third day of the match at the Rose Bowl.
Chahar had taken two wickets in Hampshire's first innings, but showed his true class on the second occasion. The leggie, who had come into the playing XI in place of fellow compatriot R Sai Kishore, bamboozled the batters and took Surrey incredibly close to the victory.
Surrey had gotten bundled out for 281 in their second innings, posting a target of 181 for Hampshire. The latter had a great start to their innings thanks to the opening pair of Ali Orr and Fletcha Middleton, who formed a solid stand of 61 runs. It looked as if Hampshie would crucise to victory on the third day itself, however things changed drastically after Chahar was brought into the attack.
The spinner broke the opening partnership by dismissing Middleton in the 19th over. Chahar just didn't stop taking wickets and didn't let the batters become comfortable for even a single over. Thanks to him, Hampshire suffered a batting collapse and lost 9 wickets in the space of just 80 runs. Notably, Chahar also dismissed his fellow countryman Washington Sundar, who departed after scoring 11 runs. The spinner finished the day with figures of 7/45 in 20 overs.
Cracker of a contest
Meanwhile,the match is set for a dramatic finish as Hampshire ended Day 3 on 148/9, just 33 runs behind the target. While Surrey might seem like the favbourites since they only need to take one more wicket to win, Hampshire batter James Fuller can have a say in the result of the match. The batter is unbeaten on 29 and the team will be relying on him to get them a positive result as the action resumes on Day 4.