Varun Chakravarthy Shines in India's Champions Trophy Campaign

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Varun Chakravarthy's selection for India's last Champions Trophy group game in Dubai against New Zealand proved to be a masterstroke, as he justified his inclusion in the XI with excellent figures of 5/42 in 10 overs. The mystery spinner's X-factor influenced his selection, and he delivered a convincing performance to help India register a 44-run victory and top Group A. Chakravarthy's impressive display has given India a pleasant headache going into the clash against Australia, with the team now having to decide whether to play four spinners or go back to the three-two combo.

Chakravarthy's comeback to the national fold has been nothing short of a dream run, which even he wouldn’t have fancied writing in a movie script when he was actively pursuing to be a film-maker seven years ago. His life and career have taken more sharp turns than his deliveries that continue to be hard for batsmen to decode. The 33-year-old's patience and ability to space out his wicket-taking deliveries have been key to his success in ODIs, and he has shown that he can feed off the pressure created by other spinners. In the second spell, Chakravarthy would reap rewards for his patience, removing Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell in successive overs to kill the chase before taking out Mitchell Santer and Matt Henry to complete a five-wicket haul.

India's think tank had spent a considerable time pondering whether to include Chakravarthy in the provisional Champions Trophy squad, but his exceptional numbers in T20s and his performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy eventually won them over. Chakravarthy's sequencing of balls and ability to construct an over have been crucial to his success, and he has shown that he can adapt to the 50-over format. The experience of playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy has helped him to understand when to bowl his incoming delivery or outgoing delivery, and he has developed a sense of awareness of when to bowl what.

The match scores were as follows:

• India: 279/7 in 50 overs
• New Zealand: 235/10 in 46.3 overs

Chakravarthy's player statistics were impressive, with 5 wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs. The tournament schedule has India playing Australia in the first semifinal on Tuesday, with New Zealand taking on South Africa the following day in Lahore. The team rankings are as follows:

1. India: 1st in Group A
2. New Zealand: 2nd in Group A
3. Australia: 1st in Group B
4. South Africa: 2nd in Group B

India's captain, Rohit Sharma, praised Chakravarthy's performance, saying that he has got something different about him and that it's very difficult to read him when he gets it right. Sharma also emphasized the importance of maintaining the winning momentum in a short tournament like the Champions Trophy. With Chakravarthy's impressive display, India will be looking to stitch together a winning performance against Australia in the semifinals.

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