Travis Head falls first ball to Varun Chakaravarthy; India spinner proves Ashwin's prediction spot on
India vs Australia, Champions Trophy 2025: Varun Chakaravarthy got the prized scalp of Travis Head. The left-hander walked back for 39.
Varun Chakaravarthy did the job that all of India was asking for. The mystery spinner got the crucial wicket of Travis Head in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final against Australia at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday. The left-hander was looking in exceptional touch, threatening to quickly take the game away from India.
Head hammered the Indian pacers Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya and looked menacing against Kuldeep Yadav. However, the left-handed batter decided to go big on the very first ball bowled by Varun Chakaravarthy.
However, he did not get the desired connection, and Shubman Gill was handed a simple catch, much to the elation of the crowd in Dubai. Varun bowled a tossed-up delivery on the second ball of the ninth over. Head got forward to loft the ball, but he miscued it.
Shubman Gill, positioned at long-on, ran forward to take a simple catch. This all resulted in the left-hander walking back to the hut after scoring 39 runs off 33 balls. Head's knock was studded with five fours and two sixes.
For far too many ICC tournaments, Travis Head has been a thorn in India's eyes. The 2023 ODI World Cup final, the 2023 World Test Championship final, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy saw Head put on a masterclass against Rohit Sharma and co. Hence, it is no surprise that Head walked in as the danger man.
India had the chance to see the back of the left-hander on the very first ball of the game, but Mohammed Shami failed to take the catch of his own bowling.
Ashwin predicted Chakaravarthy-Head match-up
On the eve of the first semi-final between India and Australia, Ravichandran Ashwin had asked Rohit Sharma to hand Varun Chakaravarthy the new ball to get the better of Head.
As fate now has it, Ashwin's wish has come true. Chakaravarthy might have been introduced in the latter half of the powerplay, but he did get the job done.
On his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, "New ball and give it to Varun and ask him to bowl over the stumps to Travis Head. Travis Head shows all his three stumps and then clears his leg and hit it over the field. Varun Chakravarthy, with a new ball, might give India an edge. It will be a mouth-watering contest."
"I would be very surprised if Travis Head will take on a back seat against Varun. He would love to go aggressive and it will high-risk option. Either he will give Australia good start or India will get him out cheaply. If Travis Head doesn't take him on, then keeps Varun on for five overs," he added.
Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss earlier and opted to bat first. India didn't change their playing XI from the previous match against New Zealand, while Australia made two changes.
