Former Indian cricketer Krishnamachari Srikanth has said that Glenn Maxwell shakes in his boots whenever Varun Chakravarthy comes in to bowl, lauding the latter for his clear upper hand over the star Australian big-hitter, with the latest dismissal coming in the fourth T20I on Thursday.
Chakravarthy claimed just one wicket at the Carrara Oval in India’s 48-run victory over Australia, but it was a crucial one;
he deceived and bowled Maxwell, sealing the game and giving India a 2-1 series lead.Chakravarthy’s dominance over Maxwell continued. Despite the latter being strong against spin, he remains troubled by Chakravarthy’s mystery balls. Returning from an injury layoff, Maxwell’s dismissal was awkward; he created space but missed the big shot.
After the wicket, Srikkanth did not hold back, calling out the one-sided nature of the contest.
“Glenn Maxwell shakes in his boots whenever Varun Chakaravarthy comes on to bowl. Varun picks up certain batters like a rabbit. Especially when he sees Maxwell, he gobbles him up like a piece of cake,” Srikkanth said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
While it is a humorous take on the matchup, the statistics back it up. In T20Is, Chakravarthy has bowled 33 balls to Maxwell. Though the latter has scored 50 runs at a strike rate over 150, Chakravarthy has claimed his wicket five times, highlighting the one-sided nature of their encounters.
Chakravarthy has picked up five wickets in this series, with only Nathan Ellis outperforming him across both teams. Capitalising on Australia’s slow pitches, he will look to help India bag a dominant series victory in the fifth and final T20I in Brisbane.
India’s spin trio, Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, has been a key strength despite Kuldeep Yadav’s absence. Shivam Dube and Washington have made vital contributions with both bat and ball as well.
In the fourth T20I, Australia’s struggle against quality spin was again exposed. Chakravarthy, Axar and Sundar shared six wickets in under 10 overs at the Carrara Oval.
