Danger signs for Team India: Glenn Phillips decodes Varun Chakravarthy's mystery

NEW DELHI: Mystery spinners rarely reveal their secrets, but New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips is quickly becoming one of the few batters to have at least partially decoded them. In the first T20I against India on Wednesday, Phillips impressed not only with his explosive strokeplay but also with the way he handled Varun Chakravarthy, a spinner who often leaves even seasoned players guessing.


Phillips smashed a stunning 78 off 32 balls in a losing effort while chasing India’s 238, and a fascinating subplot of his innings was the duel with Varun. Explaining his approach, Phillips said the key lay in balance, head position, and extracting as much information as possible at the point of release.



"He is very difficult to pick and bowls very good length and at a very high pace. For me personally, just getting into strong positions, getting my head in right place and giving myself best chance to receive as much information from his hand as possible," Phillips said.

The New Zealander stressed that there is no universal solution against Varun, whose effectiveness depends on conditions and the assistance provided by the surface.

"Everyone plays differently and on pitches that turn more he becomes more difficult. On pitches like today where there isn't as much turn, it could be little bit easier at times but he could be incredibly difficult, very tough to play," he said.

"I guess everybody has to find their own ways to combat him."

Phillips faced Varun for nine deliveries, scoring 19 runs, including two towering sixes, and played only a single dot ball — a rarity against a bowler who thrives on misreads and indecision.

On whether faster bowlers like Lockie Ferguson or Matt Henry might have been better suited to counter Abhishek Sharma’s blistering start, Phillips said:

"That's a tough question. I mean he has done it to the toughest fast bowlers in IPL, sometimes a guy is in a form like that you try and hit the best area possibly and hope that they make a mistake."

From a bowler’s perspective, he acknowledged the limits of control against an in-form batter.

"As a bowler, there is nothing much you can do when you release the ball. He hits all around the ground so sometimes you need little bit of luck," he added.

Despite producing what he called a "little gem of an innings," Phillips admitted that chasing 238 was always a tough ask.

"When you are chasing 240 (238) everything needs to go your way and way Abhishek gave them start, they got a heads up. I think we batted well till 13th over mark but after that we decided Axar to be the guy we would target but I lost my wicket," he said.

Looking ahead, Phillips felt the match would help New Zealand better understand Indian conditions, especially with varied pitches coming up.

"Understanding how the pitches are going to play like here. Couple of games we have in Chennai, this was flat and fast and in Chennai, there is an element of spin, it was understanding how conditions will be and the potential of dew factor.

Understanding differences," Phillips said, noting that the spinner-friendly Chepauk surface will contrast sharply with the flat Jamtha track here.



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