TimesofIndia.com in Kolkata: The Eden Gardens pitch has been baking in the sun for much of the run-up to the match, with both India and West Indies practicing ahead of their Super Eight clash, with both teams vying for a semi-final spot in what is effectively a quarter-final match. The playing surface in Kolkata is always the talk of the town and this one is on the drier side. Combined with the ground size and potential for heavy dew, Sunday will be a feast of running. On the face of it, both camps have similar expectations, which puts India’s X-factor Varun Chakravarthy in the spotlight.
The match is likely to be divided into two distinct halves for the enigmatic spinner: he enjoyed remarkable control and success in the group stages, but Super 8 rivals South Africa and Zimbabwe handled him with ease. While he continued his picking streak in every match from T20I to 19, the economy rate almost doubled to 10.25 in the Super 8s compared to 5.16 in the group stage. The manner in which the South African pair of David Miller and Dewald Breivis brought him down in the midfield greatly affected the outcome of the match, providing ample clues for other opponents.
Miller and Brevis both took brave shots. Since the course has almost no turns, success depends entirely on hitting the ball in the right spot. They were up for the challenge and succeeded with aplomb, with the spinner returning with figures of 1/47, his third most expensive figure in T20Is.
“There wasn’t a lot of spin tonight, so you can trust the line. Once we felt that, we were like, okay, we’ve got to bring him down because he’s a threat to every team that plays him. So that’s definitely something we did talk about,” Miller said after the game in Ahmedabad.
The next game against Zimbabwe is another challenging one. He picked 1/35 and forced the Indian team management to rethink their plans for the 34-year-old. He was used as an offensive option throughout the game, throwing one on the power play and then fulfilling his quota in the game. However, this strategy may see some tweaks on Sunday as the West Indies batting, which also has firepower, has struggled against wrist spin since the last World Cup.
“The way we have used Varun so far has been pretty standard, generally, bowling one over in the powerplay. He is also our attacking option, but we know teams are starting to play him a little bit differently now. So, we have some other strategies to deploy him in different aspects of the game, but overall, he is our guy who is looking for wickets. He is really good at that. Expect more of the same tomorrow,” India assistant coach Ryan Ten Dushat said during the match. Pre-match press conference.
When Miller and Brevis put their foot on the gas against Wallen, he tried to go deep but didn’t get the execution he was hoping for in Plan B. Varun maintained his stump play but made some changes to his line-up in the nets practice on the eve of the game as the team began to crack the code. Unlike Chennai where he worked around the length mark on the stump line, Kolkata worked on keeping the ball out. It was something he struggled with in Ahmedabad and something that was needed against a dangerous West Indies line-up.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir is in deep discussions with his ace as the team lands in Kolkata. That continued during the team’s optional training session on Saturday, with the way he tried out under the lights a possible change in strategy. Varun is no stranger to pressure or playing at the Eden Gardens, the home of his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, but he is definitely no stranger to leaking runs that he looks to stop in a do-or-die game. Shorter boundaries, batting-friendly surfaces and dew will add to the challenge and could pose a tough challenge to Varun. West Indies were well aware of the threat, but their planning and preparations were not geared towards any particular individual.
“I think, last time I checked, I thought he was T20 No. 1 bowler in the game. Do we have a plan against every bowler and vice versa. Like I said, we’re going to have a complete game and they win the game with the bat and the ball. The battle of execution. I also add the defense. I hope it will be an exciting game. But as usual, I want my team to win, that’s what we focus on, how to get an advantage in all the games and play an effective enough brand to give us a win tomorrow,” West Indies coach Darren Sammy said.
The stage and occasion couldn’t be bigger and India will be hoping their ace can seal the all-important hand for them and earn them a boarding pass to Mumbai for their semi-final against England at the Wankhede Stadium. It’s all about having fun!
