‘I'm still not able to see him’ - Varun Chakravarthy dedicates match-winning performance against RCB to newborn son and wife

Following a resounding win against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Varun Chakravarthy dedicated his match-winning performance for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to his new-born son and wife. Notably, KKR registered a win after four consecutive losses in the IPL 2023 on Wednesday, April 26 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, as they defeated the hosts by 21 runs.

Courtesy of a solid first innings performance, KKR posted a competitive total of 200 runs with Jason Roy slamming 56 off mere 29 balls. He was aided by skipper Nitish Rana (48 off 21) and Venkatesh Iyer (31 off 26).

In reply, RCB lost their wickets at regular intervals and despite Virat Kohli scoring 54 off 37, they struggled to reach to the target. It was spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s brilliant outing which decked the middle-order during the chase. The 31-year-old got the vital scalps of Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, and Mahipal Lomror which put KKR in the driver’s seat. Following the impressive win, an emotional Varun credited his match-winning performance to his new-born son and his wife. 

“That's how the game of cricket is. Last match I went for 49 (vs CSK), today I get this award. My focus is on my accuracy, not to add variations. I have been working a lot. I would like to dedicate this to my new-born son and my wife. I will see him after the IPL,” Varun told while collecting the Player of the Match award in the post-match presentation.

The Karnataka-born spinner is relishing a fabulous season with KKR as he has scalped 13 wickets in eight matches thus far. His best performance of the season came against RCB in the first meeting at the Eden Gardens on April 6 when he returned a four-wicket haul for just 15 runs in 3.4 overs. 

Meanwhile, KKR are placed seventh on the points table with three wins and will be raring to keep momentum intact. Nitish Rana and Co. will be up against defending champions Gujarat Titans on Saturday, April 29 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.