Vaibhav Tripathi in Dubai
On a grand stage where experience often dictates the narrative, Varun Chakravarthy defied convention. In just his second ODI and his first Champions Trophy appearance, the mystery spinner conjured up a spellbinding performance, dismantling New Zealand’s batting lineup with a masterful five-wicket haul. His artistry with the ball not only halted the Kiwis’ unbeaten streak but also sent a ripple of concern through their camp. With the big-ticket final looming, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead acknowledged the looming threat of Varun’s craft, vowing that his team would devise a strategy to decode the enigma before he can weave his magic once more.
“When we have a wrist spinner like him bowling, you look in for cues as a batter and I think it is a little bit easier when you are batting in the daylight to see those things,” Stead told reporters in Dubai. “There’s no doubt that he is a class bowler. He showed his skills against us last time and is a big threat in the game so, we’ll be putting on our thinking caps on around to see how we can nullify that and still score runs against him.”
A shroud of uncertainty looms over New Zealand’s pace spearhead Matt Henry ahead of the final. The seamer, who dazzled with a five-wicket haul against India in Dubai, suffered a shoulder injury while taking Heinrich Klaasen’s catch in Lahore. Though he returned to bowl two late overs against South Africa and was even seen diving in the field, questions remain over his fitness. As of now, his availability for the summit clash remains an unanswered puzzle.
“I guess the positive thing from our perspective is he (Henry) got back out there to bowl,” underlined Stead. “We’ve had some scans and stuff done on him, and we’re going to give him every chance to be playing in this match. (But it’s) still a little bit unknown at this stage. He’s obviously pretty sore just from landing on the point of his shoulder. Hopefully he will be okay.”
After deploying a two-seamer strategy in their opening games against Bangladesh and Pakistan, India made a bold tactical shift, introducing Varun in place of Harshit Rana to form a four-pronged spin attack. The move, initially met with surprise, proved to be a masterstroke. With little time between matches, India stuck to the same formula for the semi-final against Australia and reaped the rewards once again. Now, with the final on the horizon, all signs point to India backing the same winning combination.
“That’s probably what we expect them to play against us, we also have four spinners in our squad and I think we are pretty well-balanced,” asserted Stead. “It is always a challenge. They (Indian spinners) are very good spinners in their own right and so for us to be clear on our plans, working out that there could be a match-up deciding in the team whether it is the right one to go after. Those are the sorts of things that we have to see throughout the game. Who knows they may have an off day and could hand us the advantage.”
A driving force behind New Zealand’s march to the final has been the brilliance of Rachin Ravindra. With 226 runs to his name, including a couple of centuries, he is the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer. However, he is yet to prove himself against India, having managed only 94 runs in three games. The rising New Zealand star will be eager to improve this record when the final arrives.
“We are very lucky to have him on our side,” said Stead. “He is that one sort of batter who can score at run a ball without trying that hard…coupled with that is his ability to bowl left-arm spin as well. He is an important player in our team, and I can just say that he is really looking forward to what’s coming up on Sunday.”