Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra hailed Varun Chakravarthy after his fine spell against England in the third T20I at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot on Tuesday. Chakravarthy continued his liking of hunting down the English batters as he bagged his second five-wicket haul in T20I format.
The mystery spinner returned with impressive figures of 5-24 in his quota of four overs as he played a key role in restricting England to 171-9 in 20 overs.
Chakravarthy accounted for Jos Buttler, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, and Jofra Archer in his fine spell. Thus, he was awarded the Player of the Match despite India’s 26-run loss.
“Varun Chakaravarthy – how well he is doing. Firstly, a comeback is more difficult than a debut. It’s more difficult because you get the leeway on debut. When you are playing your first match, everyone says that you should do well and you deserve a chance as you have done well in domestic cricket,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Even if one or two matches go bad, you say it’s fine, and ask for more chances to be given as he is a small kid. However, when you are dropped and then return, everyone is sitting with a lens to find mistakes, that he is still the same, and has been seen earlier as well. So you dismiss people very quickly,” Chopra added.
The reputed commentator hailed Sanju Samson for taking an excellent catch to dismiss England captain Jos Buttler. The right-hander went for a reverse sweep but got an inside edge, which was taken sharply by Samson.
“Sanju Samson took an excellent catch of Jos Buttler. He (Chakaravarthy) bowled a seam-up delivery because there was pressure as he was getting hit this time. After that, two Jamies were dismissed off two balls. One in the deep and the other saw the ball hitting his stumps,” he said (6:20) in the same video.
Chopra continued to praise Chakravarthy for his consistent performances against England in the ongoing series.
“He was on a hat-trick. He didn’t get a hat-trick, but he still picked up five wickets. He has been outstanding since he made his comeback. In every video, we say he is bowling slightly slower. He was slightly lucky as well as he got wickets even on half-trackers, but this is the way it is. At times, good balls are hit for sixes,” Chopra observed.
The fourth T20I between India and England will take place at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Friday.
