Varun Chakravarthy rewrites T20I history in South Africa

Varun Chakravarthy has etched his name into cricket history, shattering records to become India's highest wicket-taker in a single bilateral T20I series. During the third T20I clash at Centurion’s SuperSport Park Stadium, Chakravarthy claimed his tenth wicket in the ongoing four-match T20I series against South Africa to help India claim an 11-run win on November 13.

With his figures of 2/54 in Centurion, Varun Chakravarthy shattered the longstanding record set jointly by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi and became the Indian bowler with the most wickets in a single bilateral T20I series. He also achieved another special milestone in T20I cricket.

Varun Chakravarthy sets new T20I record with most wickets in a bilateral series for India

Chakravarthy also became the first Indian bowler to take 10 or more wickets in a single T20I bilateral series. Ravichandran Ashwin came close in 2016, taking nine wickets at a stunning economy rate of 3.18 in three T20I games against Sri Lanka. Then, Ravi Bishnoi equaled Ashwin’s record in 2022 with nine wickets over five T20I games last year.

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But Varun Chakravarthy has now set the bar higher, not only surpassing Ashwin and Bishnoi but also joining an elite list of international spinners. Chakravarthy stands as the 16th bowler globally to achieve the milestone of taking 10 or more wickets in a single T20I series.

The Indian spinner’s achievement puts him in the company of international spin maestros like New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, and Ajaz Patel; Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan; Pakistan’s Shadab Khan; and West Indies’ Hayden Walsh Jr., among others.

Varun Chakravarthy joins elite global club of bowlers with 10+ wickets in a T20I series

Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Moazzam Ali Baig (Malawi), Sylvester Okpe (Nigeria), Jose Bulele (Mozambique), Charles Hinze (Japan), Emile Rukiriza (Rwanda), Pavandeep Singh (Malaysia), Vraj Patel (Kenya), and Lorne Burns (Spain) are the other bowlers who also achieved this feat.

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Chakravarthy made a comeback to the Indian cricket team for the first time in a long time. The Indian spinner has been on a roll ever since making a comeback to the T20I side earlier this year. He has so far taken 15 wickets in his last six matches for the Men in Blue in the shorter format of the game.

Varun Chakravarthy’s T20I comeback for 🇮🇳:

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🔥 15 wickets in 6 matches! Just INCREDIBLE! 🫡👏 #VarunChakravarthy #TeamIndia #T20I #IncredibleBowling pic.twitter.com/kxZ6Hj7UYT

— ANOOP SAMRAJ (@CricSamraj) November 14, 2024

Chakravarthy’s comeback magic continues in South Africa

Varun Chakravarthy has been outstanding for India in the ongoing T20I series in South Africa. He has claimed 10 wickets at an economy rate of eight so far in the T20I series. He kicked off the T20I series with a solid three-wicket haul at Kingsmead in Durban and followed it up with a sensational performance at St George’s Park, where he took five wickets for just 17 runs.

However, India had lost that game against the Proteas side, and now in the third game, the seasoned off-spinner scalped two wickets to take his tally to 10. He will also have another chance to add to his tally in the fourth and final T20I against South Africa on November 15 in Johannesburg.