Varun Chakravarthy shines in India's victory over New Zealand with a triumphant high-five return to Dubai

The team's victory at the Dubai International Stadium has secured them a spot in the semi-finals against Australia, marking a crucial match-up on Tuesday.

India’s innings was anchored on a crucial Shreyas Iyer knock of 79 (98b, 4x4, 2x6). But it was up to India’s four spinners to tighten the screws on New Zealand to defend a neither-here-nor-there target of 250. And they responded by taking eight wickets between them.

It was as if the Dubai black-soil pitch took us back to the 90s when comparative scores would be a big indicator in run chases. When both teams would often be neck-and-neck after the first 15 overs. Teams would not take extra risks while the field was up.

The Powerplay has now been condensed to 10 overs. But New Zealand still did not take any risks. There was so little pace off the pitch to play with that boundary hitting was a tough task. They had seen India attempting big hits in the opening overs and fail. New Zealand was 55/2 to India’s 46/3 after 15 overs. At the 30-over mark, they were 125/3 to India’s 130/4. Statistically, they had their nose in front. But their entire run chase revolved around one man – Kane Williamson.

With India playing the extra spinner, Hardik Pandya was left to do the new ball duties. Hardik began by finding a way to snare Rachin Ravindra (6) in a short-ball trap. Surely, India was going to use spin in the Powerplay. They waited only six overs to bring Axar on.

Axar would bowl wicket-to-wicket with his high arm release and make scoring difficult. Chakravarthy was the one carrying the mystery label. And he had some history with the venue too, having flopped in the 2021 T20 World Cup where he went wicketless in three games and was quickly banished from the team, recalled only last October.

Chakravarthy got his googly working immediately to send Will Young back, forcing the opener to drag one back on to the stumps on 22.

Kuldeep Yadav had come with the licence to give the ball air in search of wickets. That’s how he beat big-hitter Daryl Mitchell (17). Things got extremely difficult for New Zealand when Chakravarthy beat Glenn Philips with a googly to leave them behind at 151/5.

Williamson played the batting anchor, while the others took their chances. With Mitchell, Devon Conway – leg before to Jadeja on 14 – and Phillips falling, Williamson was left to take risks.

Batting beautifully until then, he gave Axar the charge. But the left-arm spinner was smart enough to beat him in flight to get him stumped. Williamson 81 (120b, 7x4) had threatened to spoil’s Virat Kohli’s landmark day (300 ODIs), but he couldn’t finish the job.

Axar did his bit with the bat too. It was down to Iyer and Axar to rebuild after India lost three big wickets inside the Powerplay. One of the features of Iyer’s innings was his ability to rotate the strike. For his 46 dot balls, he also rotated the strike with 42 singles.

Will O’Rourke constantly tried to prise him out with his tall release point, and eventually did. But he’s also the bowler against whom Iyer scored the most freely. Three of his four boundaries and one of his two sixes came against him.

Iyer had decided to stay committed to the pull shot. In the 17th over, he pulled O’Rourke, launched him over extra cover and pulled him again that saw 13 runs scored. He kept up that intent right through his innings.

The decision to send Axar ahead of KL Rahul despite three wickets inside the 7th over was an interesting one. Clearly, Axar’s designation is that of a floater to break the right-hand monotony in the batting order, not to disrupt like a pinch-hitter would. The left-hander began slowly while Iyer took a toll on every loose ball that came his way.

Axar’s runs were dried up by New Zealand pacers. He couldn’t switch strike against their hard lengths; 57% of the balls Axar faced were dots, the most he has consumed in an ODI game. In the final analysis though his 61-ball 42 proved as crucial in India’s fighting total. Also, the Axar-Iyer stand of 98 (136b) that rebuilt the innings.

Hardik was able to add some finishing flourish to the innings. His run-a-ball 45, particularly some big hits in the 49th over made the Indian total look more than respectable, given the conditions, after New Zealand had elected to bowl. Given that the most productive over of the innings was the 49th of the innings, it was again an indicator of how much of a vintage ODI this one was. One that India won convincingly in the end. They’ve held all the aces in the competition thus far.

“He (Varun) has got something different about him, so wanted to try and see what he had to offer… If he gets it right, it’s very difficult to read him,” Rohit said at the presentation.

On facing Australia, who beat them in the 2023 World Cup final, next up, he said: “It will be a good game, Australia has a rich history of playing well in ICC tournaments, but it is about us and what we want to do on that particular day. It will be a great contest, looking forward to that. Hopefully we can stitch one towards us.”

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