Varun Chakaravarthy reveals Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's role in maiden ODI fifer: 'Felt nervous, they told me...'
Varun Chakaravarthy returned with five wickets as India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 Group A match.
Varun Chakaravarthy stole the show in just his second ODI as he returned with a five-wicket haul in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 Group A match against New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Varun bowled a probing spell, and the New Zealand batters had no answers to his guile and deception. After the game, the 33-year-old revealed how Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma helped calm his nerves through the match.
The mystery spinner returned with the figures of 5/42 as he took the wickets of Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry. As a result of this spell, India defeated New Zealand comprehensively by 44 runs to top Group A.
Varun was tough to read for even experienced campaigner Kane Williamson. The KKR spinner first dismissed Will Young to take his first wicket, and when the tail was out in the middle, Varun did not let go of the chance of taking wickets in heaps.
"I did feel nervous in the initial stages because I've not played many matches for India in ODIs, so I definitely felt nervous, but as the game started progressing, I felt better. Virat was talking to me, Rohit Bhai was talking to me, Shreyas, Hardik, everyone was talking to me, they were telling me just calm down, just calm down," said Varun.
Varun Chakaravarthy was brought into the playing XI in place of Harshit Rana, who was given some rest. However, the spinner put in a match-winning performance for India, and it is all but certain that he will play in the semi-final on March 4.
When asked when he found out he was playing the game, Varun said, "I found out last night. I was definitely expecting to play for the country, and I was looking forward to it, but on the other hand, I was feeling a little nervous."
"It was not a rank turner, but if you bowl in the right places, it was giving certain help, and that's what, it was not my own performance. The way Kuldeep bowled, Jadeja bowled, and Axar bowled, and even the pace bowlers, it was a total team effort," he added.
Ever since making his comeback in the Indian colours, Varun Chakaravarthy has proved his metal, taking wickets in heaps in the shortest format. His performance against England in the five-match T20I series went a long way to his addition to the ODI squad for the three-match series against the same opponent.
An injury to Jasprit Bumrah meant the selectors named Harshit Rana and Varun in the Champions Trophy squad. The mystery spinner replaced opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was initially named in the 15-member squad.
New Zealand fail to chase 250 against India
Indian spinners Varun, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja spun a web around the New Zealand lineup, which led to the Kiwis' first defeat of the tournament.
Kane Williamson was the top-scorer for New Zealand as he played a knock of 81. However, his dismissal off the bowling of Axar Patel paved the way for an Indian victory.
Earlier, India posted 249/9 in the allotted fifty overs after being asked to bat first. Shreyas Iyer was the top-scorer after playing a knock of 79. For New Zealand, Matt Henry was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with five wickets.
This is the first time a bowler took a five-wicket haul against India in the history of the Champions Trophy. Henry also recorded the second-best bowling figures for a Kiwi pacer in the Champions Trophy.
India will now face Australia in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday at the Dubai International Stadium. In contrast, New Zealand will face South Africa in the second semi-final at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, March 5.
