Irfan Pathan disappointed with Varun Chakaravarthy's clueless show

Irfan Pathan voiced disappointment over Varun Chakaravarthy's bowling against South Africa, stating the spinner was 'clueless' when attacked. He also criticized Hardik Pandya's expensive final over, which he felt shifted momentum to the Proteas.

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan expressed disappointment after India's mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy's unsuccessful outing against South Africa in their first Super 8 fixture in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Pathan noted that Chakaravarthy was clueless once the Proteas batters took on the mystery spinner. He also said that the Ahmedabad pitch didn't offer much for the spinners, but South Africa's Keshav Maharaj also took three wickets, which turned the match on its head.

Chakaravarthy was taken on by David Miller and Dewald Brevis in the middle overs. The mystery spinner gave 47 runs in his four-over spell while scalping only one wicket. South Africa snapped India's 12-match unbeaten streak at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup as they handed the defending champions a 76-run defeat in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

'The most disappointing aspect was Varun Chakaravarthy'

"Apart from Bumrah, nothing much stood out in the bowling, except for the new spell bowled by Arshdeep. The most disappointing aspect was Varun Chakaravarthy. When he was attacked, he had no answer, which was somewhat disappointing. Surely, there wasn't much spin in the pitch, but even Maharaj managed to take three wickets. That was some excellent bowling," Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

'Pandya shifted the momentum'

Pathan also felt that Hardik Pandya, who gave away 20 overs in the last over, completely shifted the momentum towards South Africa as he was not aiming to bowl yorkers to Tristan Stubbs, which allowed him to open up his arms. "Towards the end, when the score reached 167 and 19 overs were done, Hardik came to bowl the final over. He bowled to Tristan Stubbs in the way he prefers, slightly short, slightly into the pitch, giving the batsman a chance to open their hands. He did not aim too much at the yorker, and because of that, Tristan Stubbs took advantage and hit runs freely. That completely shifted the momentum back to the dressing room," he added. (ANI)

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