NEW DELHI: Following India’s loss, Varun Chakravarthy reflected on the conditions in Rajkot, emphasizing how the surface slowed down in the second innings, which helped England’s spinners. Dew was expected, but it never showed up, which benefited England.
“What I observed was the pitch definitely got slower in the second innings. We thought that there might be dew which might set in, but the dew didn’t set in. So, that definitely played in their favour,” Chakravarthy said in the post-match press conference.
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Under the guidance of the seasoned Adil Rashid, England’s spin attack took advantage of the circumstances. In the second innings, Rashid was even more economical than Chakravarthy, who had an outstanding first innings, taking five wickets for 24 runs in his four-over performance. In his four overs, the England veteran gave up just 15 runs and claimed a vital wicket.
“And obviously, Adil Rashid is a legend, and he knows how to bowl. He has that control over his speed and, yeah,” Chakravarthy added, acknowledging Rashid’s mastery.
Adil Rashid made the hosts’ lives a living hell with his accuracy and skill craft.
Rashid overwhelmed the Men in Blue with his superb spin bowling when India attempted to chase down 172. Rashid kept the momentum going for England after India had fallen to 86/5.
He made strike rotation a difficult effort for Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya by keeping things tight in the middle phase and skillfully laying his traps. The experienced spinner put more pressure on the pair and scarcely gave up a loose ball for the hitters to grip on and that allowed the required run rate to rise.
The value of the wicket and Rashid’s economical spell demonstrate his significance for England, despite the fact that he only had one scalp in his wicket column.
Rashid outdid Tilak Varma with an absolute ripper. The experienced ball tweaker was the least expensive across both sides with an economy rate of 3.80.