Varun Chakravarthy with his KKR teammates
Kolkata Knight Riders' Varun Chakravarthy, after scalping the first five-wicket haul of the on-going IPL 2020 on Saturday, revealed how he shifted to cricket after failing to make much money as an architect.
On the back of Chakravarthy's five-wicket haul, Eoin Morgan-led KKR unit thumped Delhi Capitals by 59 runs at Abu Dhabi to bolster their chances of booking a playoffs berth. After being put to bat first, Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine delivered with the bat as KKR managed to amass a dominant 194-run total on the board.
While Rana scored 81 from 53 balls, Narine regained his form and smashed a 32-ball 64. In response, DC's batting unit succumbed to Chakravarthy's spin masterclass and lost wickets in quick succession, handing over a comprehensive victory to the Kolkata side.
In the space of just 17 deliveries, Chakravarthy took the wickets of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis and Axar Patel. He was also adjudged Player of the Match following his bowling exploits. The 29-year-old was elated after registering record bowling figures in the tournament's history.
"This is surreal. The last few games I didn't get wickets. I wanted to get one or two today, but thank god I got five. I enjoyed Shreyas Iyer's wicket the most. I was bowling to the shorter boundary so I had to attack the stumps," said the spinner in the post-match presentation.
"I want to thank my mother Hema Malini, father Vinoth Chakravarthy and fiancée Neha. And all my physios. Around 2015 when I was not making much money as an architect, I thought I will try something else when I wasn't able to meet my needs," he added.
