Chakaravarthy took a blow on his foot while stopping a hard-hit shot from Ishan Kishan.
Varun Chakaravarthy delivered a Player-of-the-Match performance on Sunday (May 3), leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a dominant seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Opting to bat first, SRH got off to a blazing start, cruising to 105/1 in 8.4 overs driven by 28-ball 61 from Travis Head.
Chakaravarthy’s introduction to the attack sparked a dramatic batting collapse. He finished with figures of 3/36 in his 4 overs, dismissing the set Head and triggering a slide that saw SRH lose 9 wickets for just 60 runs.
In reply, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (43) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (59) added 84 runs for the second wicket as KKR overhauled the below-par target of 166 runs with 10 deliveries to spare.
Following the win, Varun Chakaravarthy provided an update on his injury sustained while stopping a hard-hit shot from Ishan Kishan.
Chakaravarthy took a blow on his foot, making it hard to walk initially, but he remained optimistic about a quick recovery.
“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,” Chakaravarthy said in the post-match interview.
He noted that early-season IPL wickets are often flat, making it difficult for spinners, who come into play more later in the tournament.
“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.
Reflecting on his plan against Head, Chakaravarthy said he wanted to restrict the southpaw’s room and prevent him from extending his arms.
“He was extending his hands very well, I didn't want him to do that. That's the simple plan,” the mystery spinner stated.
Varun Chakaravarthy feels the batting group is coming together and KKR can "make a serious dent" in the IPL.
“The guys are coming together, the batting group is coming together. Nice to see the batting group finish it this way. I can see lots of positive energy in the team. We can make a serious dent in the IPL if we keep going,” he concluded.