We came, we saw, and we conquered. Mumbai Indians took over the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

One of the chief architects of the victory, the champion spinner Piyush Chawla, rolled back the years with his googlies that earned him three wickets on a tricky pitch in Delhi. Fresh from completing a personal milestone - 250 T20 wickets on Indian soil - he spoke to the media in the post-match press conference.

What are his thoughts on the ‘Impact Player’ rule? “The impact player rule makes the game more interesting because now, if you see all the batting teams, they bat till number 8-9. It makes a difference as a team and makes it as if you are playing on a good batting wicket. So I feel even 210-220 is chaseable,” he said.

The 34-year-old was quizzed about how he remains fit despite not being an active mention in cricket tournaments. “Indeed, I am not playing much cricket, like domestic and competitive cricket, but I make sure, like whatever games I can play, I just put more than 100 per cent of my body on the line because sometimes what happens when you go to a local game or a club game, you just go, and you tend to lose your self-confidence. You just come and bowl, but I make sure I am bowling with my full potential and what I can do for the team.”

A T20 World Cup winner with India at the inaugural edition in 2007, Piyush Chawla has played in over 250 T20 matches - international, domestic and other tournaments. A reporter asked about how chasing a cricket target has evolved, and how a leg spinner can play a role in a high-paced format like T20 cricket.

“See, in the last few years of how T20 cricket was played, 160-170 used to be a good score. But today, it is not the same anymore unless there is some help with the wicket, then 170 is a good score; otherwise, 190 or something. So, in short, every bowler is getting hit. But leg spinners are a wicket-taking option for a team, as you can use them anytime in the game. I have seen that most teams don’t use leg spinners in the powerplay, but I have bowled so many times. In such a format, you need to take wickets frequently. We have seen matches with a run rate of 14 and 15 runs per over be chased, so the wicket-taking ability of a leg spinner is as crucial as that of any bowler who must take wickets.”

The DC vs MI game went to the last ball, a real thriller - as the IPL promises it to be. Piyush gave his thorough assessment. “How Rohit (Sharma) mentioned about the batting, this pitch (Arun Jaitley Stadium) wasn’t easy to bat on. All of us, myself included, thought 170 was as good as 190 on this particular wicket. The way Rohit batted alongside Ishan and gave us a great start by taking on the new ball was significant for us. Scoring 70 runs in six overs is a great start, and that set the momentum for the chase. Even after the great start, the chase went to the last ball, so you can understand that pitch was not that easy to play on. All of them batted greatly, the way Tilak batted.”