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Xtra Time Web Desk: Varun Chakaravarthy has thanked Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir for his guidance that helped me the most to understand his role in the team. 

After recording his career-best figures of 5 for 17 in the second T20I against South Africa, Chakaravarthy expressed his gratitude towards Gambhir saying “Yes, we played the Bangladesh tour, and he was coaching the team. We definitely spoke a lot, and he gave me a lot of role clarity." 

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He credited domestic matches for helping him throughout to gain composure and make his come back happened in International matches. He told, Chakaravarthy said.“The only thing I could do was play a lot of cricket. I started playing in the domestic league (TNPL) in India, and that helped me understand my game better. That’s what really helped me.”

“During the innings break, Surya (skipper Suryakumar Yadav) came and told us not to think about the result and just go all out. That’s what we tried to do. We gave it our best and could have pulled it off. Obviously, the mindset has to be aggressive when the score is low. You have to focus on picking wickets to win the match. That’s my approach for the next two games as well, as it’s a do-or-die situation for us,” he said.

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Chakaravarthy's spell boosted India a bit as India reduce South Africa to 66 for 6 while defending a modest target of 125. However, Tristan Stubbs (47 not out) and Gerald Coetzee (19 not out) stitched an important partnership to power South Africa cross the line. South Africa's victory over India broke India’s 11-match winning streak also.

India and South Africa will crash with each other in the third and final T20Is on Wednesday and Friday at Centurion and Johannesburg, respectively.