Chahal 'on another level' as leg-spinner puts Northants on top against Leicestershire

A week on from the duo spinning Northants to their first win of the season against Derbyshire, Chahal claimed four wickets and Keogh three as the Foxes were bowled out for 203 at Wantage Road after electing to bat.

Northants then responded solidly with the bat, closing on 134 for three, with Gus Miller making 37, Luke Procter 38 and James Sales unbeaten on 34.

Earlier, Chahal bagged four for 82 and Keogh three for 20, with support coming from the fit-again Jack White who claimed two for 16 from 10 overs.

But White, a former left-arm spin bowler, was keen to focus on the efforts of Chahal and Keogh.

“It’s been very pleasing to have someone of Yuzvendra Chahal’s quality coming into the side and performing like he has – when the ball’s spinning, he’s just another level," said White, who is in temporary charge of the Northants first team following John Sadler's sacking, along with Rory Kleinveldt and Greg Smith.

“We know he’s got the skill but it’s also what’s between the ears – understanding the game and what the team needs and he does that brilliantly.

“For Rob (Keogh), I know myself that when you’ve got someone of that quality operating at one end and you’re at the other, you’re always going to be in the game, picking up chances and getting wickets.

“Rob’s skill set is huge for us as a team, in particular in this format. He brings good balance to our side and when he’s on fire, we’ve got a good operator there.

“They work really well as a partnership and they’ve put us in strong positions, winning last week and we’ve had another good day.

"I think we won two out of the three sessions.

“We took wickets in clusters and didn’t really let them go anywhere.

"As a bowling unit, it’s about controlling the rate, making sure they don’t go too far ahead of the game and when we get an opportunity to put some pressure on them, we do that.

Play on day two is set to resume at 10.30am on Wednesday.

Quotes courtesy of Ben Kosky