Follow UsAt 20/3, India were in all kinds of trouble against Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup final. However, India’s batting depth meant that they were always going to come out hard and counter-attack the Men in Green.
First, it was the sizzling partnership between Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma, and later, it was the nonchalant hitting spree from Shivam Dube, which allowed India to capture a relatively easy win in the end, continuing their unbeaten run against Pakistan in the tournament.
Reflecting on the game, Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy revealed how India were always confident throughout the clash, even when Pakistan were all guns blazing at 113/1 in the 13th over of their batting innings.
"We knew it was in our hands. Because we had Tilak and Rinku (Singh). People have not seen Rinku that much on the international stage, but we all know what he can do in the franchise he has played. So, if Rinku and Tilak are there, I know that 10-11 (10 runs were required) runs in the last over is easy nowadays. In the IPL, people chase 20-25 runs," Chakaravarthy said at CEAT Cricket Rating Awards, reported Cricbuzz.
On Pakistan’s batting collapse, Chakaravarthy revealed how it was the trend of the tournament, as teams collapsed quite easily after the eight-over mark.
"If you saw the trend in the Asia Cup, the first eight overs all the batting teams got off to a flyer. After that, from the eighth over to the next seventeenth over, it was very tough to score runs. We knew that even if they scored lots of runs in the first eight overs, even if we get one or two wickets here and there, we can pull them back and that is what happened,” he said.
Chakaravarthy, who refrains from calling himself a ‘mystery bowler’, stated that his non-selection from the Australia ODIs could just have been because of the conditions.
"I expect to be in every team but it's up to the selectors. Maybe the pitchers there offer less of a chance. If you see in the Champions Trophy also I was brought in as a replacement for Yashasvi (Jaiswal) as well. So it just depends on the conditions,” he said.
The Tamil Nadu spinner also revealed how he worked on overspin during his time away from the national team to get back into the setup.
"When I got dropped from the team, I was bowling more of side spin, which was not working in the international stage on placid wickets. So, I had to resort to overspin, which gave me more bounce and turn. So, if I have overspin, the ball dips more. I have more dip in the ball."