Varun Chakravarthy delivered a match-winning spell in the first T20I in Kolkata against England. He picked up 3/23 and was named the Man of the Match for his performance in the game.
Varun Chakravarthy along with Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel exposed the weakness of the England batters against spin. His double-wicket over which was the eighth of the innings for the visitors pegged them on the back foot.
Chakravarthy dismissed Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone and then came back to pick up the big wicket of Jos Buttler who scored 68 off 44 balls in the 17th over. He bowled wicket to wicket and bamboozled the England batters.
England posted a paltry total of 132 and India chased it inside 13 overs with Abhishek Sharma playing a blazing cameo. India had an overall brilliant game with both the batters and bowlers coming to the former with their strength. Abhishek's 79 off 34 balls was another highlight of the match.
Michael Vaughan's Suggestion For England To Tackle Varun Chakravarthy
Talking to Cricbuzz after the game, Michael Vaughan lauded Varun's spell and advised the England batters on how to play the Indian mystery spinner.
"Chakravarthy is a lovely mystery spinner - kind of brings the ball back into the right-handers. Every now and again, he will just hold one up. He's not a huge spinner of the ball, but just does enough, which makes it very difficult - always brings the stumps into play. He is very consistent and also very smart. England have got to find a different method of trying to put him under pressure" Vaughan said.
Vaughan further lauded Varun for his sheepish celebrations whenever he gets his wickets. He has just played T20I cricket for India so far and has picked up 22 wickets in 14 games including a fifer. He has also maintained an economy below seven so far.
"I love watching him bowl because when he gets a wicket, he doesn't celebrate. He just kind of walks away in an old-fashioned kind of celebration" Vaughan said.
The mystery spinner made his T20I debut back in 2021. He was also included in India's T20 World Cup 2021. However, it was in 2024 that he flourished for India taking 17 wickets in seven games for India at an average of 12.41. He had a great start to 2025 as well taking three wickets in his very first game.
