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Varun Chakaravarthy hit a six and four to win Dindugal Dragons a last-ball thriller in the TNPL. Captain R Ashwin’s reaction said it all.
News18
India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star spinner Varun Chakaravarthy turned finisher for his Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) team Dindigul Dragons to beat Salem Spartans by two wickets at the Chennai Super Kings ground on Sunday evening.
The Dragons needed eight runs off the last two balls against medium-pacer M Poiyamozhi. The penultimate ball was a no-ball, and Chakaravarthy smoked the free-hit for a six over long-on, going across his off-stump to flick it high in the air. With one run needed, the fielders closed in for the last ball, and the batter played a smart, well-timed lofted shot to clear mid-off for a four down the ground.
Watch the moment and the ensuing celebrations here:
Chakaravarthy’s former Tamil Nadu and KKR captain Dinesh Karthik was all praise for him.
“Amazing .. Well done Varun. All the hard work you have put in is showing 👏👏👏,” he wrote on X.
The spinner’s childhood coaches have previously confirmed that he has been working on his batting since being dropped from India’s T20 side after 2021. In 2024, KKR’s then batting coach Abhishek Nayar, has also revealed that the national selectors had asked the spinner to work on his batting and fielding skills.
Chakaravarthy, among the best bowlers of the past two seasons, made his way back to the T20 team earlier this year and has become an integral part of the spin attack under Gautam Gambhir’s coaching.
Coming back to the match, the Spartans scored 188/7 in the first innings. Nidhish Rajagopal was the top run-getter with 74 (47) to his name. For the Dragons, the spin duo of skipper Ravichandran Ashwin and Chakaravarthy shone with the ball. While Ashwin took three scalps, including Rajagopal’s, Chakaravarthy got rid of skipper S Abishiek.
Ashwin led the charge in the chase, too, smashing a quick 14-ball 36 as the opener. The Dragons didn’t find a single anchor to take them through but were helped by several small cameos, finished by Chakaravarthy’s cherry-on-the-cake unbeaten 13 (5) that sealed the narrow last-ball win.
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
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- Location :
Tamil Nadu, India, India
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