“Previous outings were playing on my mind” - Varun Chakravarthy’s honest admission after taking 5/42 in IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy match

Team India spinner Varun Chakravarthy has admitted to feeling nervous before his match-winning spell in the New Zealand clash of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai. The 33-year-old had struggled at the same venue in the 2021 T20 World Cup, going wicketless in three outings.

However, with incredible form behind him, Varun prospered on his Champions Trophy debut with figures of 5 for 42 in 10 overs to help India complete a 44-run victory over the Kiwis. It was the second-best bowling figures by an Indian bowler in the Champions Trophy, behind Ravindra Jadeja's 5 for 36 against the West Indies in the 2013 edition.

Reflecting on his heroic performance after the match, Chakravarthy said [quoted by TOI]:

"In 2021, I didn’t have a great tournament in Dubai, looks good right now. Team is doing well and it feels good. I was nervous during my first spell, previous outings here were playing on my mind. Virat bhai, Hardik bhai, Rohit bhai helped me keep my calm."

The Tamil Nadu spinner also credited domestic cricket for his success, saying:

"I try to sequence my spell in T20s and it’s a bit different in 50-over. Playing domestic cricket helped my awareness and allowed me to plan my spells better. It’s more of a patience game as the ball didn’t turn fast, it turned slow. The pitch was not a rank turner."

It was Varun's third five-wicket haul for India in 20 white-ball games (two in T20Is and one in ODIs). The win helped the Men in Blue finish on top of Group A, with six points in three matches.

"It's a good headache" - Rohit Sharma on Varun Chakravarthy

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma hailed Varun Chakravarthy for his match-winning performance against New Zealand. Yet, he also admitted potential selection headaches for the management in the upcoming semifinal against Australia.

Varun's inclusion in place of Harshit Rana made it four spinners in the Indian playing XI.

Talking about his heroics and the team balance for the upcoming fixture, Rohit said at the post-match presentation:

"He has got something different about him, so wanted to try and see what he had to offer. We got to think a little about what to do for the next game, it's a good headache. If he gets it right, it's very difficult to read him [quoted by Hindustan Times].

The Indian seamers, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya, bowled only eight of the 45.3 overs in the contest against New Zealand. Meanwhile, the four spinners picked up nine out of the 10 Kiwi wickets to stifle them in the middle overs and pave the way for a comfortable Indian victory.

India will look to qualify for a third consecutive final of an ICC white-ball event with a win over Australia in the semifinal in Dubai on March 4.