TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Eat, sleep, spin choke, repeat.
India’s bowling effort in the Champions Trophy has had a repetitive ring to it but in spite of that, every tightening of the grip has felt different and had a different protagonist. The seamless ease with which the support cast has assembled around the leading star on the particular day is what has made this spin quartet too hot to handle for any opposition at the Dubai International Stadium.
There is no respite because if Axar Patel won’t get you, Kuldeep Yadav will; if Ravindra Jadeja has an off day, there is the X-factor Varun Chakravarthy waiting to spin his web and together they have hunted like a relentless pack. The surfaces have been sluggish but different and even if they have aided the slow bowlers, they aren’t your rank turners! It’s the skill of the four spinners, and shrewd rotation by captain Rohit Sharma, which has allowed India to dictate terms throughout the Champions Trophy.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
They don’t operate to a rigid plan and the way the finger spinners compliment the wrist spinners, and give them the license to attack, has been a treat to watch in the multi-nation tournament. The India vs Pakistan pitch was used for the final but enough recovery time meant it wore a fresh look and offered least amount of turn. The skill, however, took over and run-scoring wasn’t an easy affair. Facing 38 overs of spin, New Zealand could score only 144 runs – including just four boundaries and a six – and the run-rate remained under four.
The start for the Black Caps was fluent vs pace but the moment Rohit went towards his wrist spinners in search of wickets, it became a different story. Varun made the first inroad but it was a Kuldeep Yadav show after that. The chinaman bowled an excellent three-wicket spell vs Pakistan but wicketless outings before and after that game put extra spotlight on him in the title clash. He is a bowler who relies a lot on rhythm and an injury layoff forced him to take the extra time before hitting top gear, again.
The more he has bowled in the tournament, the better he has looked and best was indeed saved for the last as he brought his A game to the table where the surface wasn’t playing the tricks and wristwork had to take over. First delivery of the spell, he cleaned up dangerman Rachin Ravindra with a googly. The left-hander didn’t read it from the hand and played for the away turn only to see the ball disturb the woodwork.
He struck next over again to see the back of Kane Williamson and with just eight deliveries, he had a massive impact on the game and reminded that there is still a lot of magic left in those wrists. The 30-year-old has by no means been ordinary in the tournament and has had a liking for the centre wicket where he picked up 5 of his seven wickets.
There was a notable difference in his bowling speed on Sunday as he did look to bowl it much slower but didn’t compromise on the amount of wrist he puts behind every delivery. That effort right before release ensures there are enough revolutions imparted on the ball for the magic to take over. His bowling was like a tantalising tease today and the batters did find going difficult when he stuck to his zone.
The celebration of that Rachin wicket showed what it meant to the left-armer and the way the entire team celebrated Kane’s departure emphasised the support he enjoys in the dressing room. He had ordinary outings in India’s last two ICC finals where he went wicketless vs Australia in 2023 World Cup final and leaked plenty of runs vs South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Even if the New Zealand slowburn gave that familiar feeling, Kuldeep ensured his part in an ICC final had a different storyline.
