Clean bowling! Yuzvendra Chahal's magical delivery stuns Ben Stokes in County Championship

Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates after taking the wicket of Ben Stokes. (Image credit: Northamptonshire) NEW DELHI: Yuzvendra Chahal produced a moment of magic at the County Championship on Thursday, leaving Ben Stokes completely baffled with a stunning delivery that crashed into the England all-rounder’s stumps.Chahal, who played for Northamptonshire against Durham in the Second Division, bowled Stokes for 14 on the second day at the County Ground in Northampton. The dismissal came in the 47th minute with Durham struggling at 187 for six, and the manner in which the veteran paceman outwitted Stokes quickly became one of the highlights of the match.

Chahal castles Stokes with beauty

Chahal rounded the wicket and flicked one off the stumps. Stokes seemed to judge the line correctly and decided to defend, but the delivery had other ideas.The ball bounced outside off before turning sharply to the left-hander. Stokes’ bat fell without covering the gap between the bat and the pad, allowing the ball to slide through and hit the top of the off-stump.Stokes could only stand and stare at the pitch in disbelief before returning to the pavilion as Chahal celebrated with his Northamptonshire teammates.The wicket was Chahal’s third innings and capped off a fine spell for the Indian spinner. He finished with figures of 4/36 from 15.2 overs as Durham were bowled out for 205 in 56.2 overs.David Bedingham top scored for Durham with 81 off 91 balls while Mayank Agarwal contributed 36. Alex Lees made 24 before becoming another of Chahal’s victims.

Stokes has struggled against Indian spinners

The dismissal was another reminder of Stokes’ recent struggles against Indian spin in County cricket.In the previous County Championship against Gloucestershire, Stokes looked well set before Sai Kishore produced a delivery that ended his innings on 45. The Durham all-rounder hit seven fours and a six in a quick-fire 43-ball knock before being bowled.Chahal’s final dismissal was even more impressive when the ball turned sharply enough to beat both Stokes’ judgment and defence.