Varun Chakaravarthy asked fans not to worry about his injury during the post-match presentation as Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to get their third-straight victory. The KKR spinner took a three-wicket haul, but also had to be substituted after his quota of four overs due to an injury.
In the third over (12th) of his spell, Varun sent a full delivery over the wicket on his first ball; Ishan Kishan directed it back to the bowler, and it hit his left boot. The KKR spinner was in visible pain in his final over in the 14th, and after his first delivery, Rahane even had a chat with him as he hobbled on the pitch.
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Varun Chakaravarthy opens up on his injury
Speaking after the match, Varun said, “It’s fine. It’s just the impact pain.”
“Still not able to put the foot fully down. But in another 3 days, I’ll be fine. He hit it very fast, and I had to stop it. Otherwise it would’ve been a four. I’ve been saying this every year. Initially when IPL starts, the first four matches will be flat wickets. It’s very tough for spinners to come into the game. Happened for every spinner. Everyone found it tough. As the tournament goes on, spinners come into the game”, he added.
For his first wicket, Varun removed Travis Head in the final ball of the ninth over, dismissing the SRH opener for 61 off 28 balls. The wicket turned the tide totally towards KKR’s side. He sent a quick delivery, and Head was undone by the pace, and it went straight to deep midwicket for a catch.
He took his second wicket in the 12th over, removing Smaran Ravichandran (4). Receiving a length ball, the SRh batter got a leading edge to Ajinkya Rahane at extra cover. In his final over, a hobbling Varun took his third wicket in the fourth delivery, sending Aniket Verma (6) back to the pavilion. He sent a full delivery, and Aniket top-eded it to Rahane near cover for a catch.
On Sunday, it wasn’t just Varun who performed well; his spin partner, Sunil Narine, also took two wickets, reaching 201 IPL dismissals. Meanwhile, Angkrish Raghuvanshi got a half-century, smacking 59 off 47 balls, packed with five fours and two sixes, also striking at 125.53.