New Zealand vs India: Yuzvendra Chahal’s best score with MRF bat in fourth ODI amuses fans

One of India’s tail-ending batsman Yuzvendra Chahal said in a recent question-and-answer session that he wants to hit a six in international cricket which he hasn’t yet since making debut in 2016. The 28-year-old, however, made some contributions with the bat in the fourth ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton by scoring 18 not out, the highest for his team, even though India lost the match by 8 wickets. Chahal also made some news while batting by igniting nostalgia.

Chahal came out to bat after India lost their eighth wicket in the form of Hardik Pandya in the 20th over with just 55 runs on the board. His arrival on the crease drew some attention since he was carrying with him a bat that had the iconic MRF sticker on it.

Chahal hit three boundaries with his MRF bat

Tyre-makers MRF has had some glorious association with cricket as it endorsed some of the world’s best batsmen – be it Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma. Though Chahal could not manage the much-eyed six, he hit three boundaries during his 37-ball unbeaten stay at the wicket. He had hit only two fours in his previous 38 matches and the 18 not out became his highest in international cricket.

The fact that Chahal was batting with a willow displaying the iconic sticker did not evade eyes of the social media. His performance also made many believe that he made good use of the brand. Particularly his second boundary whereby he pulled one from Colin de Grandhomme through square leg received a special appreciation.

India though had a forgettable day in the ground as they were bundled out for 92 by a spirited New Zealand bowling and the home team won inside 15 overs to make the series 3-1. India have rested regular skipper Virat Kohli after winning the series in the third match and on Thursday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Mohammed Shami too missed out. Shubman Gill made his international debut but fell for only nine to Trent Boult who took five wickets to derail India’s chances of making the series 5-0.

The fifth and final ODI will be played in Wellington on February 3 and the three-match T20I series will follow thereafter.

Here are some of the reactions that the Twitterati came up with on Chahal’s special bat

How does chahal have MRF sponsorship lmao#NZvIND

— TM (@TheMaddKiing) January 31, 2019

Sachin, Kohli, ABD….now Chahal with an MRF logo on the bat!! #NZvIND

— Siddharth Yadav (@siddharthy88) January 31, 2019

MRF bat doing the magic for Chahal .. He is the top scorer for India ..#NZvIND pic.twitter.com/ik6nBdFGI4

— Santosh Thiruvanagiri (@thiruvanagiri) January 31, 2019

@yuzi_chahal's batting was even more entertaining than Virat's/Mahi's batting in the last 2 months.
No wonder he has an MRF sponsored bat 😂#NZvIND @sanjaymanjrekar @cricketaakash

— Yuvraj Daga (@yuvrajdaga) January 31, 2019

How tf has chahal a mrf sponsored bat??#NZvIND

— Navdeep Singh (@navi0815) January 31, 2019

Me After seeing @yuzi_chahal with the MRF bat 🙄 #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/aDtKziIOrO

— Urstruly Mahesh 🎧 (@Urs2rulyMahesh) January 31, 2019

Chahal can win the match for India today. He has got the MRF sticker on his bat! #NZvIND #INDvsNZ

— Samuel Shine Soans (@SoansShine) January 31, 2019

Chahal Comes On Crease With "MRF" Bat…

Think Tht He Is KOHLI To Save India 😂#NZvIND#INDvNZ

— vikas kushwah (@vikasjikushwah) January 31, 2019

Chahal playing with @imVkohli MRF bat ?? #INDvsNZ

— Am The Rowdy You 🦉 (@Rowdynirup) January 31, 2019

Don't forget – Kuldeep has a first class hundred and Chahal… well he has an MRF sticker on his bat. And their partnership has always done well for India. C'mon! #NZvIND #EternalOptimist

— Ayush Jain (@jainayush01) January 31, 2019

Chahal playing with #MRF bat!!!#NZvIND
Explain this someone, who's bat is that

— Ruthvik (@RuthvikBhargav) January 31, 2019

Lara. Sachin. Rohit. Kohli. Chahal.
MRF keeps up the tradition of being bat sponsors for the best batsman in the generation.

— Rohit Mandholia (@RohitMandholia) January 31, 2019

The real question is, how much is Chahal paying MRF to use their logo????

#NZvIND #INDvsNZ

— A (@arcticmonkey_5) January 31, 2019

MRF bat for Yuzvendra Chahal. pic.twitter.com/Zv4R82DyyK

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) January 31, 2019

Did you notice… the top scoring Indian batsmen @yuzi_chahal #Chahal int today's game was using a #MRF Bat @MRFWorldwide … Did he borrow the bat from @imVkohli … @CEATtyres i am sure you'll must have noticed it. #4thODI #RohitSharma #NZvIND #INDvNZ

— Suheil Merchant (@suheil_merchant) January 31, 2019

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