'Never seen before': Gerhard Erasmus in awe of Varun Chakravarthy's 'game-breaking' spell

Namibia Captain Gerhard Erasmus admitted that his batters struggled against Varun Chakravarthy’s spin during Namibia’s T20 World Cup match against India cricket team. Chasing 210, Namibia stayed in the game through the powerplay, but Chakravarthy came in during the seventh over and took three wickets in 12 balls, which Erasmus said decided the match.

"It's mystery bowling. Yes, there's leg spin googly every now and again that you face, and people have become accustomed to that. It's only in a few countries that they have guys like Varun, Mujeeb and these types of guys."I don't think there's anyone in the associate cricket that bowls it. Honestly, I have to say that that was the game-breaker right there. It was really just a new skill that we've never seen," Erasmus said after the 93-run loss to India on Thursday night.Erasmus said that the style of bowling was unfamiliar to his team and not something they have faced in associate cricket. He praised the team for performing in parts of the game, especially in the death overs while bowling and in the powerplay while batting. He noted that playing in front of a large crowd in India was a new experience for his players, and they need to learn how to handle pressure in big stadiums."Through periods of that bowling performance (Chakravarthy's spell), guys stuck up, especially towards the back end of the game of their batting innings.

So that's kind of something that you have to really get accustomed to is when you play in big stadiums in front of crowds and against big teams."It's not to be overawed as a first step. Then you can express your skills better. I felt that some guys did it in patches, but unfortunately some of those big overs that leaked and also that period of batting when we went three or four wickets straight," he said.The captain emphasized that to improve, his players need to remain calm and focus on their skills under pressure to perform on the big stage."If you want to be a high-class cricketer, then you have to have courage, but you also have to have calmness and the presence of mind to perform your skills under that pressure. For example, my shot was just a little bit way too far away from the ball. I have to get it closer to the ball."How can you, under the exposure that you have there with 40,000 fans and high-quality bowling, how can you access the same skills that you do when you play your peers, I guess, when you play in associate cricket and play in front of no crowds," said the straight-talking skipper.