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In three T20Is played so far against South Africa in the ongoing four-match series, Varun Chakravarthy has accounted for the dismissal of 10 Proteas batters.
Varun Chakravarthy becomes 1st Indian bowler to take 10 wickets in a bilateral T20I series. (Picture Credit: AP)
Varun Chakravarthy maintained his ace form in T20Is for India on Wednesday (November 13) as well during the third T20I of the ongoing four-match series played against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The 33-year-old spinner picked up two wickets for 54 runs in his quota of four overs to help India successfully defend the total of 219 runs and win the match by 11 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
By taking two wickets in the third match, Chakravarthy has extended his tally of wickets to 10 in three matches played so far. With 10 wickets in the ongoing series, Chakravarthy became the first Indian bowler in history to take 10 wickets in a bilateral T20I series.
He broke Ravichandran Ashwin’s record, who accounted for the dismissal of nine batters in three T20Is played against Sri Lanka during the three-match series played in India in 2016.
Most wickets in a bilateral T20I series for India
- Varun Chakravarthy – 10* vs South Africa (2024)
- Ravichandran Ashwin – 9 vs Sri Lanka (2016)
- Ravi Bishnoi – 9 vs Australia (2023)
- Deepak Chahar – 8 vs Bangladesh (2019)
- Axar Patel – 8 vs Australia (2022)
- Ravi Bishnoi – 8 vs West Indies (2022)
- Yuzvendra Chahal – 8 vs Sri Lanka (2017)
- Mukesh Kumar – 8 vs Zimbabwe (2024)
- Yuzvendra Chahal – 8 vs England (2017)
- Washington Sundar – 8 vs Zimbabwe (2024)
- Shardul Thakur – 8 vs New Zealand (2020)
- Shardul Thakur – 8 vs England (2021)
Chakravarthy, who made a comeback into India’s T20I team after almost three years in October 2024, picked up three wickets for 25 runs in four overs during the first T20I match played against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban, on November 8. In the second T20I, which was played at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha on November 10, he registered his best bowling figures in T20Is for India by picking up five wickets for 17 runs in four overs.
However, his five-wicket haul went in vain as India failed to defend the 124-run total and went on to lose the match by three wickets.
Chakravarthy is one of the three Indian bowlers to take five wickets in a T20I match against South Africa. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up five wickets against South Africa during the Johannesburg T20I played in 2018, and Kuldeep Yadav equalled his record on December 14, 2023, by getting rid of five Proteas batters during the shortest format match played at the same venue.
The overall record of taking most wickets in a bilateral T20I series is held by West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder. In the five T20Is played between England and the West Indies in January 2022, he picked up 15 wickets.
