Varun Chakravarthy, who has had a very troubled season since the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 knockouts, has shown flashes of promising form as KKR took on Rajasthan Royals at their home Eden Gardens.
Kolkata Knight Riders have consistently struggled with the ball in this IPL season. Although their batsmen have not shown promising form, they have managed to score good scores, which the bowlers have not been able to defend.
This led to KKR not winning a single match in the season and still looking for their first win after having played five matches this season. However, what has been disappointing was the performance of their main wicket-taker in the last few seasons, Varun Chakravarthy.
Varun Chakravarthy regains form with stupendous bowling figures against RR
Varun Chakravarthy was out of form since the Super 8 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, when he failed to perform for India with the ball. Despite that, he finished as the highest wicket-taker in the World Cup.
Returning to the IPL, Chakravarthy struggled to bowl well and show promising form as he was thrashed by batsmen in his first two games of the season. After that, he was injured and missed two games with the Knights.
Returning in the previous game, Chakravarthy picked up two wickets against the Gujarat Titans where he dismissed the likes of Jos Buttler and Washington Sundar to keep the Knights in the game till the end of the game.
Chakravarthy returned with some confidence behind him to Eden Gardens. In the Knights’ den, he went on a rampage, dismissing three of RR’s most skilled batsmen. He provided the breakthrough with the wicket of Vaubhav Sooryavanshi and then also deceived Dhruv Jurel and captain Riyan Parag. He finished with impressive figures of 3/14 in his 4 overs.
Varun Chakravarthy’s new T20 record
Indian bowlers with excellent T20 records are nothing new to witness; However, Varun Chakravarthy has bagged a record by completing 200 wickets in the shortest format of the game.
The spinner plays domestic T20s for his state team, while representing India internationally and the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He has also featured in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and all wickets taken will be taken into account.
In his new record feat, he is the second fastest to 200 T20 wickets among Indian bowlers and is only behind Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh. He left behind the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat and Mohammed Shami.
Fastest up to 200 T20 wickets (Indians):
- Arshdeep Singh – 151 matches
- Varun Chakravarthy – 155 matches
- Kuldeep Yadav – 160 matches
- Jaydev Unadkat -162 matches
- Mohammed Shami – 165 matches
Will the RR match be the emergence of a new dawn for KKR?
KKR’s most successful bowler helped them make a strong comeback with the ball and was wonderfully supported by Sunil Narine and young Indian pacer Kartik Tyagi, who also picked crucial wickets in the match.
Kolkata have managed to restrict them to a total of 155 in their 20 overs, which is a huge positive for the weaker bowling side of this edition of the IPL. This could be the first good opportunity for the Knights to record their first win of the season.
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