IPL 2023: Varun Chakravarthy dedicates match-winning 3-fer vs RCB to wife and new-born son

IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy has dedicated his Player of the Match award against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to his new-born son Aathman and wife Neha Khedekar. The 31-year-old's spell guided KKR to a 21-run win against RCB in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Chakravarthy first dismissed a dangerous Glenn Maxwell (5 off 4) on the penultimate ball of the powerplay overs before helping the 2-time champions get rid of Mahipal Lomror (34 off 18) in the twelfth over. Later, Chakravarthy also got rid of Dinesh Karthik (22 off 28) in the 18th over.

These three wickets played the most crucial roles in helping Kolkata defend 201 and break their chain of fourth consecutive defeat which started against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 14.

"I would like to credit this to my new-born son - I'm still not able to see him but I would like to dedicate this to him and my wife," the Tamil-Nadu tweaker said after the match.

"Nothing much, that's how the game of cricket is. Last match I went for 49 (in four over for one wicket vs CSK), this match I did well. That's how crazy life is. More focused on my accuracy than more variations. I didn't want to add more variations. I thought it was time to be more accurate," he added.

Chakravarthy is now the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the IPL 2023 alongside Punjab Kings' (PBKS) Arshdeep Singh. Both the Indian bowlers have 13 wickets each.

The Nitish Rana-led side will next face Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, April 29.