Varun Chakravarthy delivered an outstanding bowling performance in the third T20I against England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium. The spinner dismantled England’s middle order and picked up his second career five-wicket haul. Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone were the top scorers for England. Duckett made 51 off 28 balls, while Livingstone contributed 43 off 24 deliveries.
England got off to a steady start despite losing Philip Salt early. Mohammed Shami, who made his return to international cricket after 14 months, opened the bowling for India. Salt was dismissed early, but Duckett attacked aggressively. He hit three consecutive boundaries off Hardik Pandya. Duckett and Jos Buttler helped England reach 52 for one after the first six overs.
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Duckett played a key role in England’s Powerplay, scoring a rapid 26-ball fifty. It was his maiden T20I half-century. However, the Indian spinners, including Axar Patel and Chakravarthy, increased the pressure. Duckett was dismissed for 51 in the 10th over, caught by Axar. Chakravarthy delivered a key breakthrough by dismissing England’s captain Jos Buttler for 24 off 22 balls in the ninth over. The spinner has now dismissed Buttler four times in seven T20 innings.
After taking Buttler’s wicket, Chakravarthy continued his impressive spell. He claimed the wickets of Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, and Jofra Archer. Chakravarthy finished with figures of 5 for 24 in four overs.
The spinner has now become the third Indian to take multiple five-wicket hauls in T20Is. Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav have achieved this feat before, with two five-wicket hauls each.
Chakravarthy’s previous five-wicket haul was against South Africa in Gqeberha in November 2024. In that match, he took five wickets for 17 runs.
