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 closing group-stage match at Dubai Worldwide Cricket Stadium. His efficiency helped India safe a semi-final conflict in opposition to Australia after topping Group A with an unbeaten report.
Varun returned figures of 5 for 42, marking the all-time bowling figures by an Indian in his Champions Trophy debut. He surpassed teammate Mohammed Shami’s 5 for 53 in opposition to Bangladesh in India’s match opener on the similar venue. General, it was the second-best bowling efficiency by an Indian in Champions Trophy historical past, solely behind Ravindra Jadeja’s 5 for 36 in opposition to West Indies within the 2013 version at The Oval.
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Greatest figures on Champions Trophy debut
- 6/52 – Josh Hazlewood vs New Zealand in Edgbaston (2017)
- 5/42 – Varun Chakravarthy vs New Zealand in Dubai (2025)
- 5/53 – Mohammed Shami vs Bangladesh in Dubai (2025)
Including one other milestone, Varun grew to become the quickest Indian bowler to say a five-wicket haul in ODIs, reaching the feat in simply his second match. The earlier report was held by Stuart Binny, who picked up 6 for Four in opposition to Bangladesh in Mirpur in his third ODI in 2014.
Greatest figures for India in Champions Trophy
- 5/36 – Ravindra Jadeja vs West Indies at The Oval (2013)
- 5/42 – Varun Chakravarthy vs New Zealand in Dubai (2025)
- 5/53 – Mohd Shami vs Bangladesh in Dubai (2025)
- 4/38 – Sachin Tendulkar vs Australia in Dhaka (1998)
- 4/45 – Zaheer Khan vs Zimbabwe in Colombo RPS (2002)
The match additionally made historical past as the primary occasion of two five-wicket hauls in a single Champions Trophy sport. 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 ‘Participant of the Match’ award, Varun expressed his feelings: “Initially, I did really feel nervous within the preliminary phases. I’ve not performed many matches for India within the ODI format, however as the sport went on, I felt higher. Virat, Rohit, Shreyas and Hardik had been speaking to me, and that helped. (On when he knew he was taking part in) I came upon final evening. I used to be undoubtedly anticipating to play for the nation, however then again, I used to be nervous. It was not a rank turner, however in case you bowled in the precise locations, it supplied help. The best way Kuldeep, Jaddu, and Axar bowled, even the tempo bowlers, it was a complete staff effort.”
Skipper Rohit Sharma defined the choice to incorporate Varun within the taking part in XI, stating, “He has one thing completely different about him, so we wished to try to see what he can supply. We haven’t thought a lot in regards to the subsequent sport but, but it surely’s a superb headache to have.”
With this commanding victory, India now shift focus to the semi-final in opposition to Australia, the place Varun’s thriller spin might play a key function in India’s title pursuit.
