India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy continued to bamboozle England batters in the ongoing five-T20I series. In the third T20I, Chakravarthy took his international career's second fifer. However, his five-wicket haul went in vain as India failed to chase down a target of 172 and lost the match by 26 runs. He became the first bowler in T20I cricket whose two fifers ended in losing cause. Despite the defeat, he was adjudged 'Player of the match' in Rajkot. The 33-year-old was 'sad' that he did not end up on the winning side. He did not complain about captain Suryakumar Yadav's tactic to give one-over spell to spinners.
"Sad we didn't make it this match, but that's nature of this game. Got to move on and get ready for the next match. When you are playing for the country, you have to take responsibility. I am able to do that to an extent. I don't complain (about one over spells), because there have been times when I have bowled four overs on the trot. I am ready for everything," Chakravarthy said in the post-match presentation.
Amidst a stellar run in T20Is, Chakravarthy is not looking to rest on his laurels and is working on his flipper to keep the batters guessing.
"Working on my flipper, it's coming out well. As I told you in the previous match, maybe I have bowled well, but I can get better going forward," he added.
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So far, Chakravarthy has taken 10 wickets in the series. In the third T20I, he was introduced in the sixth over. He conceded just three runs against a free-flowing Ben Duckett and captain Jos Buttler while the fielding restrictions were on. He got another chance in the ninth over and got the wicket of Buttler as Sanju Samson opted for DRS. He was brought back into the attack in the 14th over and dismissed Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton off consecutive deliveries.
Then, he bowled the 16th over and got rid of Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer. He conceded 24 runs in his quota of four overs and reduced England to 127/8. After his spell, Liam Livingstone's 43-run knock and 10-run contributions from Adil Rashid and Mark Wood took England to 171/9.