Has Varun Chakravarthy powered himself to earning a spot In the semifinal and maybe beyond? Ravi Shastri roared: “What he’s done is that he has put his hand up now for a spot in the semifinal in the playing XI, because the pitches will be the same, he has been outstanding tonight. Well more headaches for the think-tank and selectors.” With his figures of 5/42, Varun has almost definitely sealed his spot to take on the Aussies in Dubai on Tuesday.
Earlier though amidst his flipper and top spinner variations, while aiming at the stumps, there was a tiny slice of luck. And he had Michael Gough to thank. When the English umpire gives a decision on field, rarely has it been overturned in recent times. But he made a rare mistake on Sunday in Dubai when he gave Michael Bracewell out LBW against Varun Chakravarthy. He got the tough part right, that the ball first hit the pad and not the bat. But Varun’s delivery was angling away and later, ball-tracking showed it was missing the stumps. Bracewell hadn’t reviewed it (perhaps because it was Gough who gave it out, can’t be sure). But that dismissal got Ravi Shastri broaching the Varun dilemma, and announcing the mystery spinner’s arrival.
– Vinayakk Mohanarangan
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Varun goes for a kickabout
It was a free hit for Will Young in the fourth over of the run-chase. Hardik Pandya bowled a full length delivery that was miscued and the ball went high up in the air, but it was evident it didn’t have enough legs to go to the boundary. India were about to get away with a freebie with minimal damage. But Varun Chakravarthy at mid on had other ideas. There was no reason for him to go for the catch, he just had to wait for the ball to bounce in front of him, gather it safely and throw it back. But, in a moment of bravado, Varun went for what would have been a toughie in the best of circumstances, his outstretched arms were nowhere near the ball, instead his feet were, and he ended up kicking the ball towards the boundary. A desperate scramble wasn’t enough to save the four. Hardik, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli all had the same reaction… Hand on face. To be fair to Varun, he has made considerable improvements in his fielding in recent times, as was evident during the recent England series, where his work in the outfield came for praise. This was a throwback, however, to Varun’s earlier days in the IPL where he wasn’t necessarily always the best fielder on display.
– Vinayakk Mohanarangan
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Glenn with the wind, dares like an eagle
Before the match, Glenn Phillips was asked in the press conference about the incredible catches he takes. Jokingly, a reporter, wondered: ‘any particular glue stick you use?’ Phillips, the understated NZ cricketer that he is, said: “I think a great deal of luck comes involved. I wish I could say that I’ve got a special little glue tag that I use, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. If anything, my palms are more sweaty than anything else. Obviously comes down to a lot of hard work and doing the basics as much as I can and then sometimes luck just plays a good part in it.”
If it is luck, Phillips must be like Domino in the Deadpool movie. On Sunday in Dubai, he pulled off another stunner in the ICC Champions Trophy. This one that left Virat Kohli awestruck in his 300th ODI. The Indian star absolutely belted a square cut to a short ball wide outside offstump, and the ball seemed to be flying towards the boundary, but Phillips put in a dive like an eagle, and plucked the ball from behind his right shoulder. It was the second time he had done so in the tournament, the previous one coming against Pakistan when he flung himself to his left. “We kind of expect that from Glenn,” captain Mitch Santner had said back then. It has just become a habit for the world’s best fielder at the moment… but it makes your jaw drop everytime.
– Vinayakk Mohanarangan
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Rohit’s compulsive pulling a false step?
Rohit Sharma stepping out to break the shackles during the early phase of an innings is now expected. He’s experienced success and failure in equal measure. In the 2022 T20 World Cup semi final against England in Adelaide he played one of the ugliest across the line horizontal slap shots to Sam Curran and got away with it. Then there was that out-of-shape heave against Glenn Maxwell in the 2023 50-over World Cup final in Ahmedabad against Australia. A brilliant running catch by Travis Head ended his stay in the middle. Here Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson were on the money, and Rohit donned the aggressor role early to try and set the tone. When Rohit gets it right, it is a feast for the eyes. He had already pulled Henry for a four in the first over and in the third he charged down the track to launch the New Zealand fast bowler over mid-on for a six. It was a daring shot, his hand-eye coordination clicking and anticipation excellent. The attacking approach has not worked in Test cricket for him recently, but with less movement in the air in white-ball cricket Rohit takes his chances. Rohit hasn’t set the stage on fire yet in the first Power Play during the Champions Trophy. A few balls later, Rohit was dismissed playing the pull shot to a ball when facing Jamieson. He was a little early into the shot and was caught at square leg. 15 runs off 17 balls. Live by the sword, die by the sword seems to be Rohit’s motto. With two must-win games around the corner, cameos also need to be converted into big runs.
– Nihal Koshie
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Shreyas’ 79 saves India blushes after top order torpedoed by Kiwis
When Glenn Phillips leapt to his right and plucked another stunning catch like he usually does, Virat Kohli had a stunned look on his face, and the crowd was silent in the Dubai International Stadium. Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma fell to his favourite pull shot, getting caught at the square leg while in-form Shubman Gill was trapped in front by Matt Henry in the third over.
The score board read 30/3 in 6.4 overs, another collapse from Indian batting order against the Kiwis looked ominous as memories of the haunting semi-final from the 2019 Cricket World Cup started returning to the Indian fans. Chasing 240 in Manchester, the Indian top order was destroyed by Trent Boult and Matt Henry.
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Rohit and Kohli were present then too, and the scoreboard had read 5/3 with Rohit nicking one behind, Kohli getting trapped in front, and Rahul nicking it off to Matt Henry. The only difference between both horrible starts is that the Indian middle order failed to save the day in 2019, but Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel stitched a partnership of 98 runs today to save the innings. Shreyas negotiated the spinners fairly well and even drove them out of the attack, not sparing William O’Rourke brought in to scare him with the short stuff.
– Pritish Raj
Kane or Glenn? On Point
Hardik Pandya had used his flat, fast tennis forehand speed to pull a ball to the boundary just moments ago. There was savagery in the air and in his sinewy intent. So off he went on the off-site, twice trying to scythe-cut William O’Rourke past point. Glenn Philips had reached his 23rd catch in 49 matches with a peach of a one-hander. But Kane Williamson stationed there first cut off one of the hardest hit slashes at point as Hardik went muscling away. Not soon after, one was smacked right at Williamson’s ribs as his catching palms were jolted and the ball seemed to bounce off them and even hit the knee before rolling down. Crucially, he had absorbed the velocity of that strongly struck cut. He would respond like a Tom & Jerry cartoon, flapping his palms and leg, as if comically electrocuted. He smiled genially but was spotted next ball still trying to shrug off the impact.
None of any of this, however, could stop Williamson from diving full length to his left to send back Ravindra Jadeja next for a stunning catch. Kane better than Glenn? Maybe not quite. But certainly, they were India’s bane.
– Shivani Naik