Varun Chakravarthy set a massive world record vs New Zealand
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Varun Chakravarthy won the Player of the match award
- Chakravarthy replaced Harshit Rana in the playing XI
- India will play Australia in the semi-final
Varun Chakravarthy justified India's big selection gamble by including him in the playing XI for the 2025 Champions Trophy clash against New Zealand by producing a match-winning spell of 5/43 against New Zealand as the Rohit Sharma-led side ended the league stage unbeaten with a victory in all three games.
The 33-year-old came into the lineup in place of Harshit Rana as the Men in Blue made a bold selection choice by picking four spinners in the lineup, including two all-rounders (Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel), while having just one specialist pacer (Mohammed Shami) alongside Hardik Pandya.
Chakravarthy spun a web around the New Zealand batting unit in only his second ODI outing for the Men in Blue. He picked up the wickets of Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, and Matt Henry as nine of the 10 wickets were taken by Indian spinners, with India sealing a 60-run win and setting up a blockbuster semi-final against Australia on Tuesday (March 4).
Varun Charkavarthy Creates History
With this stunning display in Dubai, Chakravarthy became the third spin bowler after Shahid Afridi and Ravindra Jadeja to take a five-wicket haul in the Champions Trophy. However, he is the oldest and the only spinner to achieve the milestone after celebrating his 30th birthday.
Overall, Chakravarthy is the second-oldest player in the competition's history to take a five-wicket haul behind Mohammed Shami (34 years, 170 days), who set the record in India's tournament against Bangladesh in Dubai, a few days ago.
Oldest Spinners To Take Five-Wicket Haul In Champions Trophy History
| Player |
Age |
Opponent |
Spell |
Venue |
Year |
| Varun Chakravarthy |
33 years, 185 days |
New Zealand |
5/42 |
Dubai |
2025 |
| Shahid Afridi |
24 years, 197 days |
Kenya |
5/11 |
Birmingham |
2004 |
| Ravindra Jadeja |
24 years, 187 days |
West Indies |
5/33 |
Oval |
2013 |
Meanwhile, New Zealand pacer Matt Henry, who also took a five-wicket haul in yesterday's fixture is the third-oldest to register the huge milestone in the competition's history. Ironically, Henry had identical figures to Varun (5/43). Glenn Mcgrath ( vs New Zealand, 2002) and Mervn Dillion (vs Bangladesh, 2004) are the only other players to
take five wickets in a Champions Trophy match after turning 30.
However, the New Zealand star has set the unwanted feat of becoming the first player to take a five-wicket haul but end up on the losing side in a Champions Trophy match. No player had achieved the milestone against India in the competition before.
Talking about Varun, his figures are also the best by a spinner on his Champions Trophy debut. He is the third player to take a five-wicket haul in his first match in the competition after Josh Hazelwood (6/52 vs New Zealand, 2017) and Mohammed Shami (5/53 vs Bangladesh, 2025).
He is the quickest Indian (2 matches) to take a five-wicket haul in ODI cricket breaking Stuart Binny's record, who took a five-for in his third match in the format with a spell of 6/4 against Bangladesh, which is the best-ever bowling figures by an Indian in ODI cricket history
This match marked the first instance of their being two five-wicket hauls in the same Champions Trophy match in the 27-year-old history of the competition.
Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.
