India suffered a loss in the second T20I against South Africa on Sunday, but Varun Chakravarthy’s brilliant performance stood out. The 33-year-old spinner was in exceptional form, taking a 5-wicket haul and giving India a glimmer of hope in the contest. Chakravarthy claimed 5 wickets for 17 runs in his 4 overs, almost leading India to victory. However, despite his efforts, Tristan Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee kept their composure and guided South Africa to a win, leveling the 4-match T20I series.
By taking five wickets in the match, Chakravarthy joined an elite list, becoming only the third Indian bowler to achieve this feat against South Africa in T20Is. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the first to do so in 2018, followed by Kuldeep Yadav in 2023. Chakravarthy’s figures were also the joint-second best by an Indian spinner in T20Is, matching Kuldeep’s 5 for 17. Yuzvendra Chahal holds the record for the best performance by an Indian spinner, taking 6 for 25 against England in 2017.
While Chakravarthy’s bowling performance was impressive, India’s batting struggled on a challenging St George’s Stadium wicket. Sanju Samson, the star of the previous game, fell for a duck, and the rest of the batting lineup followed with cheap dismissals. Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rinku Singh all fell quickly. Hardik Pandya fought valiantly, remaining unbeaten on 39* off 45 balls, but India could only post a modest 124/6. South Africa chased down the target comfortably in under 19 overs to level the series.
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