Varun Chakravarthy A Big Threat in CT Final: New Zealand are certainly wary of the “big, big threat” that India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy will pose to their batsmen in their clash in the ICC Champions Trophy final, which will be played on Sunday in Dubai.
Both teams had met earlier in their group stage encounter, also in Dubai, which India won by 44 runs, with Chakravarthy dismantling the Kiwi batting line-up with a five-wicket haul in what was only the second ODI of his short international career.
In the semi-final against Australia, Chakravarthy took the huge wicket of the dangerous Travis Head when the left-hander tried to smoke him for a boundary.
Chakravarthy’s variations have been bamboozling the best of the batsmen since the IPL last year. He made a return to the T20I side and helped India record series wins over Bangladesh, South Africa, and England.
His terrific performances against England in the T20Is earned him an ODI debut against the same opposition and made a late entry into India’s Champions Trophy squad, replacing the back-up opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in the provisional squad.
Varun Chakravarthy A Big Threat in CT Final: Gary Stead
“So, look, we certainly expect him to play after getting 5 for 42 against us in the last game. And yeah, we’ll be planning our, I guess, intentions around that as well, Stead said.
Stead acknowledged Chakravarthy’s potency, adding that his batsmen are preparing for the spinner’s threat in the final.
“There’s no doubt he’s a class bowler. He obviously showed his skills against us last time, and he’s a big, big threat in the game. So, we’ll be putting our thinking caps on how we nullify that and how we can still score runs against him. I think when you have a wrist spinner like that, then you’re looking for cues as a batsman. And I think it’s always a little bit easier when you’re in the daylight to see those things,” the New Zealand coach added.
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