Feels really good - Varun Chakaravarthy on achieving the 50 T20I wickets milestone

Varun Chakaravarthy surpassed the 50-wicket mark in T20Is as India dished out a masterclass against South Africa, bowling them out for just 117 in Dharamsala. He reached the milestone with the crucial wicket of Donovan Ferreira, who looked solid in the center for his brief stay.

Chakaravarthy concluded with figures of 2/11 from his allotment of four overs, solidifying India’s grip on the game. Varun also became the second-fastest Indian bowler to claim 50 T20I wickets, only a few matches behind Kuldeep Yadav.

Talking in a post-game interview, Varun opened up on the feeling of racking up an important milestone while highlighting how he pulled off those miserly numbers. He also shed some light on the conditions in Dharamsala while delineating how the dew actually made bowling quite tough for a spinner.

Shedding light on the conditions and the milestone, Varun said, “I actually wasn’t aware of the milestone, so thank you for telling me. It was doing a bit early on when the fast bowlers were bowling, there was some seam movement. But overall, the conditions were very tough. I’ve never played at a ground this cold, so I did find it quite challenging. (Laughs) No, not at all. This (chilly weather) can never happen in Chennai.”

Acknowledging the help from the management, Varun stated, “We had a proper bowling meeting and some very honest conversations. We identified where we went wrong and focused on the right approach. Credit has to go to the management and the bowlers. It was a two-way discussion, and it worked really well. I was just trying to stick to my strengths.”

He concluded by saying, “Today, the ball was skidding more than turning, so my focus was on skidding the ball on to the batter rather than trying to force too much turn. It feels really good (second fastest to 50 T20I wickets). As long as I’m playing for India and contributing with wickets, I’ll always feel good.”