'We knew it was in our hands...': Varun Chakravarthy reveals why Team India remained confident throughout Asia Cup final vs Pakistan

Varun Chakravarthy revealed that the team had full confidence about applying the brakes on Pakistan batters even after they had put up 113 runs on the board on the loss of just wicket at one stage. The Men in Blue made an incredible comeback with the ball during the match as they ended up losing their last nine wickets in the space of just 33 runs. The Men in Green got bundled out for 146 runs in 19.1 overs and gave India a decent target of 147.

Chakravarthy revealed that the team was aware how the batters generally got off to a great start in the Asia Cup, but struggled massively to score runs from the eighth to the 17th over. That is why the Men in Blue were confident that they will restrict their arch-rivals to an achievable total.

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"So, that is how it is designed. If you saw the trend in the Asia Cup, the first eight overs all the batting teams got off to a flyer. After that, from the eighth over to the next seventeenth over, it was very tough to score runs. We knew that even if they scored lots of runs in the first eight overs, even if we get one or two wickets here and there, we can pull them back and that is what happened," Chakaravarthy explained on the side-lines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai.

How many wickets did Chakravarthy take in the final?

Chakravarthy played a big role in bundling Pakistan out for 146 runs and did so by picking up two wickets in his quota of four overs. He only gave away 30 runs in his entire spell and was economical as well. He clinched the huge wickets of Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub during the all-important final.

The spinner further revealed that the team were confident about winning the match when they required 10 runs to win in the final and had the duo of Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh present on the crease.

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"We knew it was in our hands. Because we had Tilak and Rinku (Singh). People have not seen Rinku that much on the international stage, but we all know what he can do in the franchise he has played. So, if Rinku and Tilak are there, I know that 10-11 (10 runs were required) runs in the last over is easy nowadays. In the IPL, people chase 20-25 runs," Chakravarthy stated.

How well did Chakravarthy perform in Asia Cup?

Meanwhile, Chakravarthy had a successful Asia Cup campaign and finished the tournament with seven wickets from six matches. He will now be shifting his focus to the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia that is set to commence from October 29.