He first bowled one that pitched outside leg stump and ripped across the batsman. The next was a straighter one. And then came the gem, completely foxing Dhoni. A classical leg-spinner from the legend forced the Chennai skipper into a drive and the outside edge flew to Graeme Smith at slip.

The Aussie’s guile as a spinner and influence as a skipper is infectious. And he isn’t just inspiring his Rajasthan Royals team mates. Just ask Piyush Chawla.

“He is a legend. He is a big motivation for me. He reads batsmen’s minds so well and that’s very important for a bowler. It’s a pleasure to watch him and learn from his game,” said Chawla.

The Kings XI Punjab leggie also had a chance to interact with the Aussie maestro and picked up invaluable tips. And the results were there to be seen. Against the Deccan Chargers, the UP bowler took three wickets. And today, just as the Bangalore batsmen were looking to launch their final assault, he dismissed the dangerous Misbah-ul-Haq and Praveen Kumar in one over, finishing with 3-25.

“During our match, I spoke to him. He gave me handy tips and I am trying to implement them. The tips are surely working,” said Chawla. But he refuses to explain further.

“You have to see my bowling to understand what I have gathered from him,” said Chawla. Before today’s game, he had accounted for five dismissals from his 16 overs in six matches at an economy rate of 8.43, a little above Warne’s 8.10.

“It’s not easy to bowl in T20. But I am enjoying the challenge. You have to basically bowl good deliveries in all formats of the game,” said Chawla.

So did he have to make adjustments in his bowling for T20? “Not really. I am just varying my pace a lot more here,” he said.