Varun Chakravarthy’s mind games worked wonders |courtesy – screengrab
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Varun Chakravarthy got two wicketsTim David made a two-ball oneTilak Varma was kept at short-leg
Varun Chakravarthy’s mind games worked wonders during the 2nd T20I between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday (October 31) as the world no. 1-ranked spinner managed to outfox Tim David to ensure India were able to reduce Australia’s victory margin after a forgettable outing.
David walked out to bat at number four with Australia at 87-2 while chasing a total of 126. However, the star batter could not continue his golden run of form in 2025 as Varun was dismissed for one run in two balls in the 9th over in a caught-behind dismissal.
As David walked out to bat, Varun, alongside Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, decided to bring a short-leg with Tilak Varma fielding close to the batter with a helmet. The Australian batter saw the funny side of things and had a fun chat with his former Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate. Later, as Varun started his run-up to deliver his first ball to David, the latter backed out. The 33-year-old made a tit-for-tat gesture by stopping mid-way before delivering the delivery on his next attempt.
David then took a single on the first delivery he faced by nudging a delivery down the leg side. On the next ball, David gave away a return catch.
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Talking about the match, Australia won the toss and chose to bowl out. India were bowled out for 125 runs with Josh Hazlewood taking three wickets while giving away just 13 runs. Abhishek Sharma was the lone warrior for India with a knock of 68 runs in just 37 balls. Harshit Rana made 35 runs in 33 balls.
Varun ended with impressive figures of 2-23. Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah both got two wickets each.