Star India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy said that the Indian team remained confident of winning even after Pakistan’s strong start in the Asia Cup final last Sunday. However, Pakistan were cruising along at 113 for one in the 13th over before India bounced back, and eventually limited their total to a below-par 146 all out in 19.1 overs as well.
“So, that is how it is designed,” Chakaravarthy explained on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai on Tuesday. “If you saw the trend in the Asia Cup, the first eight overs all the batting teams got off to a flyer. After that, from the eighth over to the next seventeenth over, it was very tough to score runs. We knew that even if they scored lots of runs in the first eight overs, even if we get one or two wickets here and there, we can pull them back and that is what happened.”
He also played a key role, claiming the first two wickets of Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub as well. However, his dismissal of Ayub in the 13th over opened the floodgates. Kuldeep Yadav then dismantled the Pakistan line-up, picking up three wickets in his fourth over.
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“We knew it was in our hands. Because we had Tilak and Rinku (Singh). People have not seen Rinku that much on the international stage, but we all know what he can do in the franchise he has played. So, if Rinku and Tilak are there, I know that 10-11 (10 runs were required) runs in the last over is easy nowadays. In the IPL, people chase 20-25 runs,” the India spinner added.
“I have never called myself a mystery bowler. It’s the media that has turned me. But, whatever it is, if you want to call me a mystery, it’s fine. It’s just that I have the ability to bowl all the deliveries with the same grip and same release point. That’s what is making others find it tough to pick me,” he again said.
“When I got dropped from the team, I was bowling more of side spin, which was not working in the international stage on placid wickets. So, I had to resort to overspin, which gave me more bounce and turn. So, if I have overspin, the ball dips more. I have more dip in the ball. I expect to be in every team but it’s up to the selectors. Maybe the pitchers there offer less of a chance. If you see in the Champions Trophy also I was brought in as a replacement for Yashasvi (Jaiswal) as well. So it just depends on the conditions,” Varun Chakaravarthy concluded.
All the CEAT award winners:
Domestic Cricketer of the Year: Harsh Dubey
Men’s Test Batter of the Year: Harry Brook
Men’s Test Bowler of the Year: Prabath Jayasuriya
Emerging Young player of the Year: Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Women’s International Bowler of the Year: Deepti Sharma
Women’s International Batter of the Year: Smriti Mandhana
Lifetime Achievement of the Year: BS Chandrasekhar
Men’s ODI Bowler of the Year: Matt Henry
Men’s ODI Batter of the Year: Kane Williamson
Memento for Highest Runs by Indian player in CT 2025: Shreyas Iyer
Men’s T20I Batter of the Year: Sanju Samson
Men’s T20I Bowler of the Year: Varun Chakravarthy
Memento for winning CT 2025 as Captain: Rohit Sharma
Men’s International Cricketer of the Year: Joe Root
Lifetime Achievement Award: Brian Lara
Exemplary Leadership Award: Temba Bavuma
