Ahmedabad, Dec 19 (IANS) With six wickets in three innings, spinner Varun Chakravarthy is India’s top bowler in the T20I series against South Africa and will be going into the fifth and final match of the series in Ahmedabad in high spirits, hoping to help the hosts win by a wider margin. The mystery spinner said he wants to create pressure on himself to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

India lead the series 2-1 after the fourth match was abandoned with a ball being bowled because of fog, and will be trying for a 3-1 margin at the Narendra Modi Stadium. South Africa, on their part, will be hoping to square the five-match series 2-2 in the clash between the top two sides from the 2024 T20 World Cup.

The fifth and final T20I in Ahmedabad offers India a chance to close out a challenging South Africa tour on a high, and Chakravarthy is aiming to contribute to achieving that target.

Speaking on JioStar, Chakaravarthy stressed the importance of trusting his lengths, learning from early international setbacks, and mentally challenging himself even in seemingly easy games. Chakaravarthy highlighted how confidence and mindset have been key to his recent success.

“My plan is simple; stick to the basics and bowl my length. Sometimes it works, and thankfully, in the last three matches, it has worked well. I will try the same in the next match. It’s about mindset and skill. When you are not confident, your mindset affects your skill,” said Chakaravarthy.

“The key is to stay confident and back your skills. That is when you execute well, without much change. That is the secret to being consistent. At this level, you must be consistent; playing at the highest level is important to know where you stand. In my first match at the international level, I struggled a bit initially, and that’s when I understood a few things. I went back to practice and made corrections. So, it is very important to keep playing at the highest level,” he added.

Talking about the importance of self-imposed pressure in his World Cup preparation, Chakravarthy said, “It is very important to keep putting pressure on yourself to get ready for the World Cup. You have to challenge yourself even when there is no challenge. If a match feels easy, you have to create that pressure mentally and start challenging yourself. Confidence, bowling the right lengths, and understanding the opposition are key. That is one major factor I want to take into the World Cup. With a better understanding of the opposition, I think I can do well.”

–IANS

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