Dubai [UAE], March 3 (ANI): Ahead of the semifinal clash against Australia in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma praised mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy for his match-winning spell in the last group stage match against New Zealand.

Varun bowled exceptionally well and was awarded Player of the Match for his brilliant performance in the last group stage match. The 33-year-old snapped five in his spell of 10 overs, where he conceded 42 runs.

'He just showed what he's capable of. Now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right. Obviously, look, he got a game. He did everything that was asked for. I said it at the post-match as well that he's got something different about him. When he gets it right, he knocks people over and he takes five-five wickets. It is very tempting to think about what to do, which is a good headache to have. We'll just try and assess. We just want to go back and think about what the Australian batting lineup will look like and how we can try and see what kind of bowling options will work against them,' Rohit Sharma said in a pre-match press conference today.

Varun had a perfect redemption story in Dubai during his debut in the ongoing marquee event, as he overcame the demons of his horror ICC T20 World Cup 2021 outing at the same venue and registered a memorable five-wicket haul against New Zealand in his side's final ICC Champions Trophy group stage match.

Having gone wicketless in his three ICC T20 WC 2021 matches, particularly a stinging 10-wicket loss to Pakistan in the group stage that paved the way for a group stage exit, Varun was one of the scapegoats of India's disastrous campaign. After scripting a comeback to remember for in T20Is last year and snapping two five-wicket hauls quickly, Varun has now registered his third five-wicket haul, this time in ODIs and at the venue where he did not have the most fond memories.

Lauding him further, the India skipper said the 33-year-old has become more accurate as compared to the time when he debuted for the national team during the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.

'I think he's become more accurate now from the last time he played for India, which was way back in 2021. And I mean, there was a little bit of inexperience in him as well, because he hadn't played a lot of cricket. But right now, in the last two or three years, he's played a lot of cricket, whether it's domestic cricket, IPL, and now for India in T20s, and now the ODIs as well. He understands his bowling really well. There is definitely something about his bowling which he's using to his advantage. Some of our batters also couldn't figure that out, which is always nice. But to answer that question, I think he has become more and more accurate, And the pace variation is superb,' the 37-year-old added.

Varun's spell of 5/42 is the second-best by a bowler on CT debut and best by an Indian bowler on CT debut. Australia's Josh Hazlewood has the best CT debut spell, taking 6/52 against NZ in 2017 at Edgbaston.

Varun's fifer in his second ODI is the earliest by an Indian bowler in his ODI career. The previous earliest was Stuart Binny, who picked 6/4 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2014 in his third ODI.

Also, behind Jadeja's 5/36 against West Indies in CT 2013, this is the second-best bowling spell by an Indian in Champions Trophy history.

Sharing his experience of seeing Varun Chakravarthy bowl while standing at the slips, the season opener said that the mystery spinner getting wickets more often is a good sign for the team.

'Watching from behind when I was standing in the slips, the variation of his has become a lot more. And when you have a little bit of mystery, you don't want to be one-dimensional bowler and bowl with the same speed. You need something different, the pace variation, and the accuracy as well. So, he's, I think, worked on both of it. And now you see that he's getting a lot of wickets and getting more often as well, which is a good sign for us as a team,' the skipper added. (ANI)