Varun Charkravarthy searches for his lengths early in the innings, and he becomes unplayable once he starts landing them in the right areas.
Both teams will use a range of tactics to win the Champions Trophy 2025 final. India and New Zealand have been two of the most tactically superior sides throughout the competition, which has helped them qualify for the summit clash.
Ahead of the final, former RCB director and New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has opined on Varun Chakravarthy, who has been sensational throughout this Champions Trophy 2025. On Cricbuzz, he exclaimed Varun alone might force New Zealand to bat first and negate his threat.
“I think at the toss, from a tactical point of view, New Zealand will want to bat first and they will want to do what they did against South Africa in the semifinal. The reason why I say that is because of this man here, Varun Chakaravarthy.”
Notably, New Zealand also opted to bat first in the semifinal contest against South Africa in Lahore and posted a massive first-innings score. However, the conditions won’t be as easy to bat in Dubai, but they must still give themselves the best possible chance to make a contest.
While Varun Chakravarthy can perform in both innings, his value might surge significantly in the second dig. The team batting first will get the best possible conditions to bat, and the spinners’ role won’t be as pronounced.
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But once the pitch settles after one team completes the innings, it might turn more and elevate the spinners’ job. Varun wreaked havoc in the second innings against New Zealand in the last league-stage fixture, snaring five wickets.
Even though the target wasn’t too big, his spell never allowed New Zealand to remain in the chase. Indian spinners are skilled enough to make inroads at any stage, and all New Zealand can do is reduce the probability of it.
That is only possible if they bat first and force mistakes from Indian spinners by batting proactively and disrupting their lengths. Varun Charkravarthy searches for his lengths early in the innings, and he becomes unplayable once he starts landing them in the right areas, so New Zealand must be smart right from the start.
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