Punjab Kings (PBKS) leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal became the first cricketer in the world to take 300 T20 wickets in a country on Tuesday (April 28). He achieved the historic feat while bowling against the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 in Mullanpur, though in a losing cause as the visitors took home a six-wicket triumph.
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Chahal bowled an exceptional four-over spell of three wickets for 36 runs. His economy rate was only bettered by Harpreet Brar in the second innings, where RR chased down 223.
His wickets all came at crucial times, getting rid of Dhruv Jurel to break a 54-run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal, then taking out Jaiswal for 51 and finally RR skipper Riyan Parag for 29 (16). Ultimately,
it wasn’t enough as Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey’s sensational 77-run stand turned the game on its head.
Most wickets in a country:
| Player | Country | Matches | Runs | Wickets | Average | Economy | 5 Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuzvendra Chahal | India | 267 | 7298 | 300 | 24.32 | 7.85 | 2 |
| Piyush Chawla | India | 265 | 7062 | 289 | 24.43 | 7.57 | 0 |
| Danny Briggs | England | 242 | 5946 | 288 | 20.64 | 7.34 | 1 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 254 | 6971 | 276 | 25.25 | 7.55 | 3 |
| Samit Patel | England | 288 | 6868 | 255 | 26.93 | 7.51 | 0 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 195 | 4649 | 252 | 18.44 | 6.46 | 4 |
| Amit Mishra | India | 230 | 5536 | 248 | 22.32 | 7.12 | 2 |
| David Payne | England | 194 | 5264 | 244 | 21.57 | 8.03 | 1 |
| David Willey | England | 244 | 5594 | 244 | 22.92 | 7.97 | 0 |
| Harshal Patel | India | 201 | 5826 | 242 | 24.07 | 8.53 | 2 |
This performance was yet another example of how Chahal has sustained himself in the high-scoring era of IPL with his classical leg-spin. He has spoken several times about how difficult it is but he has been using all his experience to make it count.
“It’s not easy to bowl in IPL, especially when you have an impact player. But the best thing is that if we are conceding 210 runs, then our batsmen are able to overhaul the target. We are trying our level best,” Chahal told reporters after PBKS’s win over Delhi Capitals last week.
“Dealing with the impact sub rule can be a bit challenging, but you simply have to adapt because that is what the tournament requires. This is the direction that the format is headed in and we have to find solutions because we cannot change it.”
This was PBKS’ first defeat of the campaign, and they still remained on top of the points table despite of it. This was their last home game in Mullanpur, though, as they’d now finish the remainder of the seven-match quota at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
