Sipu Jha
TimesofIndia.com in Kolkata: The Eden Gardens pitch baked under the sun for most of the match eve as both India and West Indies held their practice sessions before the Super Eight clash, a virtual quarter-final for the two teams eyeing a semi-final berth. The playing surface invariably becomes the talking point in Kolkata and this one is on the drier side. Add ground dimensions and the possibility of heavy dew, and it’s set to be a run-feast on Sunday. Both camps have similar expectations from the surface, which firmly places the spotlight on India’s X-factor Varun Chakravarthy.The tournament could well be divided into two contrasting halves for the mystery spinner: he enjoyed significant control and success in the group stages but Super 8 opponents South Africa and Zimbabwe handled him comfortably. Although he has continued his streak of picking a wicket in every T20I to 19, the economy rate has nearly doubled to 10.25 in the Super 8s compared to 5.16 in the group stages. The way South African pair David Miller and Dewald Brevis took him down in the middle overs significantly impacted the game’s outcome, offering enough cues for other opponents.Both Miller and Brevis were brave enough to play their shots. Since the pitch offered little turn, success depended solely on hitting the ball to the right spot. They came prepared for the challenge and succeeded with aplomb as the spinner returned with figures of 1/47, his third-most expensive figures in T20Is.
“It wasn’t spinning too much tonight, so you can kind of trust the line. And once we felt that, then we felt, OK, we’ve got to take him down, because he is a threat to every team that he does play against. So it was definitely something that we did speak about,” Miller said after the game in Ahmedabad.The next game against Zimbabwe was another challenging outing; he picked 1/35, and has forced the Indian team management to rethink their plans for the 34-year-old. He has been used as an attacking option in the format, bowling an over in the powerplay before finishing his quota in the middle-overs. That strategy, however, could see some tweaks on Sunday because the West Indies also have a lot of fire in their batting, but have struggled against wrist-spin since the last World Cup.“It’s pretty standard how we’ve utilised Varun so far, generally speaking he bowls one in the power play. He’s our attacking option as well but we’re aware that teams are now starting to play him a little bit differently. So we have some other strategies to deploy him in in different facets of the game but generally speaking he is someone we turn to for wickets. And he’s been really good at that. And expect more of the same tomorrow,” said India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate during the pre-match press conference.When Miller and Brevis pressed on the accelerator against Varun, he tried to go wide but didn’t get the execution he would have liked with the Plan B. Varun keeps the stumps in play but as teams begin to crack the code, he worked on some variations in his lines during the net session on the eve of the match. Unlike Chennai, where he worked around length markers on the stump line, Kolkata was about keeping the ball outside off. Something which he struggled in Ahmedabad and something which could be required against the dangerous West Indies line-up.Coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a deep discussion with his trump card when the team landed in Kolkata. It continued during the team’s optional session on Saturday and the possible change in strategy was visible in the way he tried under lights. Varun isn’t a stranger to pressure or playing at the Eden Gardens – home to his IPL franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders – but he is definitely stranger to leaking runs and will want to stop the flow in the do-or-die fixture. The shorter boundaries, batter-friendly surface and dew will add to the challenges and could pose a stiff challenge for Varun. West Indies are well aware of the threat but aren’t focussing on any particular individual for their plans and preparations.
“I think, last time I checked, I think he was the number one bowler in T20 cricket. We respect every opposition. Do we have our plans against each bowlers and vice versa, our bowlers versus their batsmen? Yes. Like I said, we go play a complete game. The team has quality. They got match winners, just like we do. And it’s a battle of who executes with both bat and ball. And I add the fielding as well. I expect it to be an exciting game. But as usual, I want my team to win. And that’s what we’re focusing on, how we could get an advantage versus all the matchups, and play that brand that is effective enough to bring us the victory tomorrow,” said West Indies coach Darren Sammy.The stage and occasion can’t be bigger and India would hope their trump card wins them the all-important hand, and earns them the boarding pass to Mumbai for the semi-final versus England at the Wankhede. All to play for!
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