Follow UsKolkata Knight Riders (KKR)’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy made a mockery of Rajasthan Royals (RR) batters Dhruv Jurel and Wanindu Hasaranga in the space of three deliveries in Match 53 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on May 4 (Sunday).
Chasing a target of 207, RR lost Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Kunal Singh Rathore in the first two overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 34 off 21 before getting out to Moeen Ali in the seventh over.
Jurel, who was retained for INR 14 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, walked out to bat at the end of seven overs and was straightaway up against Chakaravarthy.
The RR wicketkeeper-batter came on strike on the third delivery of the eighth over, and it was pretty evident that Chakaravarthy would welcome him with a googly. Jurel was late, trying to read the delivery off the pitch, left a big gap between bat and pad, and ended up getting knocked over.
Next up was Hasaranga, getting a promotion to No.6, but ended up making a fool out of himself against Chakaravarthy. Another googly, another batter leaving a massive gap between bat and pad, and getting castled - Hasaranga had no clue what happened.
“The gap is so big that a TATA Curve can go in between it,” said Sunil Gavaskar on commentary. Batting at the other end, RR captain Riyan Parag had a grim expression on his face and couldn’t believe how clueless Hasaranga looked at the other end.
Chakaravarthy has now bowled six deliveries to Hasaranga in the IPL and has dismissed him thrice. Looking at these numbers, it was strange why Hasaranga was promoted ahead of Shimron Hetmyer, that too against Chakaravarthy.