"South African side has got some homework to do" - Paul Adams on Varun Chakravarthy's brilliant performance in IND vs SA 2024 T20I series
Former South African left-arm wrist-spinner Paul Adams reckons the Proteas have some work to do when facing Indian leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy in the remaining two T20Is of the four-match series. Analyzing the Indian spinner's bowling, Adams opined his control of length has been great, whether he bowls the googly or his leggies.
Chakravarthy made his international debut against Sri Lanka in July 2021 and also featured in the T20 World Cup that year in the UAE. However, he was dropped from the team after a wicketless campaign in the ICC event. The 33-year-old has made a stunning return to international cricket after a gap of three years.
In a virtual interaction arranged by SA20, Adams shared his thoughts on Chakravarthy's magnificent performance in the ongoing T20I series in South Africa. He said [as quoted by PTI]:
"Yeah, I think his control of length has been great in terms of bowling, his googly and his leggy. So, his release point as well is (at a) very similar height in terms of getting that googly out and the lines."
"So, his control has been absolutely magnificent in terms of how to challenge the batter's defense and also they're not sure in how to line him up in what they're seeing at the moment," the former left-arm wrist-spinner added.
"So, the South African side has got some homework to do on how they're going to play him and how they're going to go about him in the two matches left," Adams stated, while concluding his thoughts on the Indian leg-spinner's success against the Proteas.
Chakravarthy claimed 3-25 in the first T20I against South Africa in Durban and followed up with excellent figures of 5-17 in a losing cause in Gqeberha. Earlier, in the T20I series against Bangladesh at home, which marked his comeback to international cricket, the Tamil Nadu spinner claimed five wickets in three games.
Varun Chakravarthy credits Gautam Gambhir after a successful comeback
Although India lost the second T20I to South Africa in Gqeberha, Chakravarthy won praise for his five-wicket haul.
After the game, he credited coach Gautam Gambhir for giving him role clarity. Chakravarthy said (as quoted by HT):
"Yes, we played the Bangladesh tour and he was coaching the team. And definitely we spoke a lot and he gave me a lot of role clarity. He told me, even if you go for 30-40 runs, it doesn't matter. All you have to look is to pick wickets. So that's your role in the team. And yeah, the clarity which they gave definitely helped me."
In 11 T20Is, Chakravarthy has picked up 15 wickets at an average of 16.46 and an economy rate of 5.81.