Record-breaking spell! Varun Chakravarthy registers best-ever bowling figures for India on Champions Trophy debut

India’s Varun Chakravarthy and Rohit Sharma have a good time the wicket of New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips. (ANI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Spinner Varun Chakravarthy made a memorable ICC Champions Trophy debut on Sunday, producing a sensational five-wicket haul as India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs of their remaining group-stage match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. His efficiency helped India safe a semi-final conflict towards Australia after topping Group A with an unbeaten document.
Varun returned figures of 5 for 42, marking the best-ever bowling figures by an Indian in his Champions Trophy debut. He surpassed teammate Mohammed Shami’s 5 for 53 towards Bangladesh in India’s event opener on the identical venue. Overall, it was the second-best bowling efficiency by an Indian in Champions Trophy historical past, solely behind Ravindra Jadeja’s 5 for 36 towards West Indies within the 2013 version at The Oval.
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Best figures on Champions Trophy debut

Adding one other milestone, Varun turned the quickest Indian bowler to assert a five-wicket haul in ODIs, reaching the feat in simply his second match. The earlier document was held by Stuart Binny, who picked up 6 for 4 towards Bangladesh in Mirpur in his third ODI in 2014.
Best figures for India in Champions Trophy

The match additionally made historical past as the primary occasion of two five-wicket hauls in a single Champions Trophy recreation. New Zealand pacer Matt Henry returned similar figures of 5 for 42 throughout India’s innings, setting the stage for an exhilarating contest.

After receiving the ‘Player of the Match’ award, Varun expressed his feelings: “First of all, I did feel nervous in the initial stages. I have not played many matches for India in the ODI format, but as the game went on, I felt better. Virat, Rohit, Shreyas and Hardik were talking to me, and that helped. (On when he knew he was playing) I found out last night. I was definitely expecting to play for the country, but on the other hand, I was nervous. It was not a rank turner, but if you bowled in the right places, it offered assistance. The way Kuldeep, Jaddu, and Axar bowled, even the pace bowlers, it was a total team effort.”
Skipper Rohit Sharma defined the choice to incorporate Varun within the taking part in XI, stating, “He has something different about him, so we wanted to try and see what he can offer. We haven’t thought much about the next game yet, but it’s a good headache to have.”
With this commanding victory, India now shift focus to the semi-final towards Australia, the place Varun’s thriller spin might play a key function in India’s title pursuit.