Dubai [UAE], March 7 (ANI): Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy final against India at Dubai, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that the team will be putting their “thinking caps” on to tackle spinner Varun Charkavarthy, highlighting the difficulties of facing him under the lights.
India will be playing New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy on March 9 at the Dubai International Stadium. With India being undefeated in the tournament so far and the Kiwis having looked rock solid with bat and ball under the captaincy of Mitchell Santner, the clash promises to be an epic sequel to their 2000 ICC Champions Trophy final, when New Zealand won. Men in Blue would like to avenge losses to the Blackcaps in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal and 2021 ICC World Test Championship final.
One of the biggest troubles Kiwis will face will be Varun, who took a five-wicket haul (5/42) that derailed NZ’s chase of 250 runs and dismantled their middle order, including scalps of Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, skipper Mitchell Santner, all of those batters who could have helped NZ from position of 151/3 to reach the target. His spell triggered a collapse, which bundled out Kiwis for 205 in 45.3 overs.
Speaking to the media ahead of the match, Stead said, “Varun Chakaravarthy is a big threat in the game. He is a very good bowler. We will have a look at the pitch conditions and what effects he could have on the game. We certainly expect him to play after getting a fifer. We will be putting our thinking caps around on how we will nulify him and score runs against him. When you have such a wrist spinner bowling, you are looking for cues, and it is much easier in daylight to see those cues.”
Stead also said that Kiwis expect India to field four spinners against them, but they have a capable four-spinner lineup led by skipper Santner, with Bracewell and all-rounders Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra capable of delivering powerful assists to their lead spinner.
“We have four spinners as well and think we are pretty balanced. But there is always a challenge (against Indian spin). I mean, they are all very good spinners in their own right. So for us, it is just being nice and clear on our plans and working it out, be it a match-up or other sort of things we will read through the match. They (Indian spinners) could also have an off-day as well, that could be in our advantage,” he added.
Varun is the leading wicket-taker among spinners in this competition, with seven scalps in two matches at an average of 13.00. Also, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav (five wickets each at an average of 33.40 and 36.60 respectively) and Ravindra Jadeja (four wickets at an average of 38.25) have delivered crucial wickets as well.
For Kiwis, their spinners, Santner (seven wickets in four matches at an average of 27.71) and Bracewell (six wickets in four matches at an average of 28.83) have been among the leading acts. Rachin and Glenn, with two wickets each, have also delivered some useful spells of spin bowling too. (ANI)
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