Last Updated:
Michael Vaughan hailed Varun Chakravarthy as a “lovely mystery spinner”.
Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy (AP)
Michael Vaughan was impressed by Varun Chakravarthy’s performance in the T20I series opener against England at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. The Indian spinner picked three wickets while giving away just 23 runs in four overs. Thanks to his dominant bowling, England were forced to wrap up their innings with 133 runs. After India won the first T20I by seven wickets, Vaughan hailed Chakravarthy as a “lovely mystery spinner” skilled in “bringing the ball back into the right-handers.”
While Arshdeep Singh got rid of both the English openers with the new ball, Chakravarthy was also brought into the attack during the powerplay. The leg-spinner castled Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone in the same over before dismissing an in-form Jos Buttler. The England captain emerged as the lone warrior for his team, registering 68 runs off 44 balls.
During a post-match show on Cricbuzz, Vaughan suggested that England should find a way to put pressure back on Chakravarthy. According to him, the visitors could take a counter-attacking approach against Chakravarthy which might affect his composure.
“Every now and again, he will just hold one up. He’s not a huge spinner of the ball but just does enough, which makes it very difficult – always brings the stumps into play. He is very consistent and also very smart. England have got to find a different method of trying to put him under pressure,” Vaughan told Cricbuzz, as per the Sportskeeda.
The former England captain also praised Chakravarthy for maintaining a calm demeanour on the field. “I love watching him bowl because when he gets a wicket, he doesn’t celebrate. He just kind of walks away in an old-fashioned kind of celebration,” he added.
Since his debut in 2021, Chakravarthy has represented India in 14 T20Is to take 22 wickets. While he was named the Player of the Match in Kolkata, Arshdeep, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel also made crucial contributions, picking two scalps each.
Abhishek Sharma stole the show during the chase. The young Indian opener smashed 79 runs at a strike rate of over 230. His blazing knock was laced with as many as eight sixes and five boundaries. Among the other Indian batters, Sanju Samson scored 26 runs while Tilak Varma remained unbeaten at 19.
