Varun Chakravarthy made history on Sunday with an outstanding performance in the second T20I between India and South Africa at St George's Park in Gqeberha.
The mystery spinner recorded exceptional bowling figures of 5/17, setting a new benchmark for Indian spinners in T20 internationals. His maiden 5-wicket haul in T20Is also earned him a place in the record books alongside Kuldeep Yadav, who also took 5/17 against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2023, marking the best T20I bowling figures by an Indian spinner. Check South Africa vs India 2nd T20I HIGHLIGHTS here
Chakravarthy’s brilliant spell played a key role in restricting South Africa during their chase of 125 runs, as he dominated their top and middle order. This achievement further solidifies his reputation as one of the top T20I bowlers. Varun Chakaravarthy getting the big wickets for Team India Getting big wickets like that of Heinrich Klaasen and Davi Miller in the same over showed how good Varun's spell actually was for the Men in Blue.
Varun's fifer however, couldn't do the job for Team India on the night as Tristan Stubbs and Gerlad Coetzee helped the hosts chase down the modest total of 125 on the night to make it 1-1 in the 4-match series. However, Varun's spell will forever be etched in the history books of Indian cricket now and will be a cherished memory for the bowler as well.
Best figures in T20Is by an Indian bowler | ||||||||||
Player | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Team | Inns | Opposition | Ground | Match Date |
Deepak Chahar | 3.2 | - | 7 | 6 | 2.1 | India | 2 | v Bangladesh | Nagpur | 10/11/19 |
Yuzvendra Chahal | 4 | - | 25 | 6 | 6.25 | India | 2 | v England | Bengaluru | 01/02/17 |
B Kumar | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | India | 2 | v Afghanistan | Dubai (DICS) | 08/09/22 |
Kuldeep Yadav | 2.5 | - | 17 | 5 | 6 | India | 2 | v South Africa | Johannesburg | 14/12/23 |
Varun Chakaravarthy | 4 | - | 17 | 5 | 4.25 | India | 2 | v South Africa | Gqeberha | 10/11/24 |
B Kumar | 4 | - | 24 | 5 | 6 | India | 2 | v South Africa | Johannesburg | 18/02/18 |
Kuldeep Yadav | 4 | - | 24 | 5 | 6 | India | 1 | v England | Manchester | 03/07/18 |
R Ashwin | 4 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2 | India | 1 | v Sri Lanka | Visakhapatnam | 14/02/16 |
Arshdeep Singh | 4 | - | 9 | 4 | 2.25 | India | 1 | v U.S.A. | New York | 12/06/24 |
B Sran | 4 | - | 10 | 4 | 2.5 | India | 1 | v Zimbabwe | Harare | 20/06/16 |
D Hooda | 2.5 | - | 10 | 4 | 3.52 | India | 2 | v New Zealand | Mount Maunganui | 20/11/22 |
R Ashwin | 3.2 | - | 11 | 4 | 3.3 | India | 2 | v Australia | Mirpur | 30/03/14 |
Harbhajan Singh | 4 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 3 | India | 2 | v England | Colombo (RPS) | 23/09/12 |
RP Singh | 4 | - | 13 | 4 | 3.25 | India | 2 | v South Africa | Durban | 20/09/07 |
B Kumar | 4 | - | 13 | 4 | 3.25 | India | 2 | v South Africa | Cuttack | 12/06/22 |
Ravi Bishnoi | 4 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 3.25 | India | 1 | v Zimbabwe | Harare | 06/07/24 |
Ravi Bishnoi | 2.4 | - | 16 | 4 | 6 | India | 2 | v West Indies | Lauderhill | 07/08/22 |
H Pandya | 4 | - | 16 | 4 | 4 | India | 2 | v New Zealand | Ahmedabad | 01/02/23 |