Varun Chakaravarthy celebrates with teammates.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Varun Chakaravarthy’s previous international appearances at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium were forgettable as he went wicketless in the three games he played during the 2021 T20 World Cup.
On Sunday against New Zealand, he did not get off on the right note either on his Champions Trophy debut, dropping a sitter off a Free Hit at mid-on in the fourth over of the chase.
However, the Varun of 2025 is a far more savvy cricketer than he was four years ago and produced a mesmerising spell (10-0-42-5) to help the Men in Blue finish on top of Group-A with a convincing 44-run win in the final league match of the tournament.
The victory means India will take on Australia in the first semifinal here on Tuesday.
Defending a total of 249, the Tamil Nadu spinner, who replaced Harshit Rana in the playing XI, spun a web around the Kiwi batters and justified his late inclusion in the squad.
Earlier, riding on Shreyas Iyer’s fine 79 and a late cameo from Hardik Pandya (45), India managed 249 for nine.
In reply, the Black Caps’ innings never found its bearings against India’s four-pronged spin attack. Barring its star batter Kane Williamson who made a gritty 81 (120b, 7×4), the others appeared clueless against Varun’s guile and mystery.
Hardik gave the breakthrough when he had Rachin Ravindra caught ramping one to third-man. Varun then had Will Young playing one onto his stumps.
Kuldeep had Daryl Mitchell trapped in front, while Ravindra Jadeja accounted for Tom Latham. Varun then took centrestage in his second spell, removing the dangerous Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell in successive overs. Both batters misread the googly and were struck on the pads as the Kiwis slumped to 159 for six. Once Axar had Williamson stumped, the final piece of resistance ended and Varun cleaned up the tail to claim his maiden five-for in only his second ODI.
Earlier, India’s top-order had its first off-day of the tournament as Matt Henry struck twice in the PowerPlay to leave the Men in Blue in a spot of bother at 30 for three after being inserted in.
Virat Kohli, playing his 300th ODI, could not build on his century from the previous match and fell for 11 when his square cut off Henry found an acrobatic Phillips at backward point, who pouched a stunner diving to his right to leave the former shell-shocked.
Shreyas and Axar Patel (42) then steadied the ship, forging a 98-run partnership (136 balls) for the fourth wicket. Axar broke the shackles when he swept Mitchell Santner to the fence. In the next over, Shreyas smashed Will O’Rourke for three boundaries, including a clean lofted drive over covers on either side of two well-timed pulls.
The Mumbai batter stepped up a gear once he reached the 50-run mark, smashing a few sixes before falling to a bouncer from O’Rourke. At 182 for six, India’s innings was in trouble but Hardik gave it the much-needed momentum in the last 10 overs.
Published – March 02, 2025 10:49 pm IST