3 Indian bowlers to have taken two 5-fers in T20Is ft. Varun Chakaravarthy

Varun Chakaravarthy continued his brilliant form with the ball as he bagged a five-wicket haul in the third T20I of the ongoing series against England in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 28. However, his efforts went in vain as India ended up losing the match by 26 runs.

Batting first, England got to a decent total of 171/9 despite Chakaravarthy's heroics. The target proved to be too good for the hosts as they were restricted to 145/9 and lost the game.

As India won the first two matches, the series now stands 2-1, with two more games to go. The home side will have to win the next match to seal the series, while the visitors will have to win both the remaining games.

With his incredible spell, albeit in a losing cause, Varun Chakaravarthy became only the third Indian bowler with two five-fers in T20Is. On that note, let us take a look at the three Indian bowlers to have achieved this feat.

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#3 Kuldeep Yadav

South Africa v India: Final - ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 - Source: Getty

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is among the three Indian bowlers with two five-wicket hauls in T20Is.

Kuldeep picked up his first five-wicket haul in the format in 2018 against England in Manchester. It was the opening T20I of the series, and he accounted for the wickets of Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Chris Jordan. He ended with 5/24 as India won by eight wickets.

Kuldeep's second fifer came in 2023 against South Africa in Johannesburg during the third T20I. India were defending 202 runs, and the spinner picked up the wickets of David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, and Lizaad Williams. His spell of 5/17 helped India win by 106 runs.

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#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

New Zealand v India T20I Media Opportunity - Source: Getty

Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar also has two five-wicket hauls in his T20I career.

Like Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar grabbed his maiden fifer in the format in 2018. The fast bowler achieved the feat against South Africa in the first T20I in Johannesburg. He ran through the Proteas' top order, picking up the wickets of JJ Smuts, Reeza Hendricks and JP Duminy, before returning to remove Heinrich Klaasen and Chris Morris to end with 5/24.

Bhuvneshwar's second five-wicket haul came against Afghanistan during the 2022 T20 Asia Cup in Dubai. India were defending a 213-run target as the veteran pacer took charge with the ball. He claimed the key wickets of Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Karim Janat, Najibullah Zadran, and Azmatullah Omarzai. His scintillating figures of 5/4 helped India win the game by a huge margin of 101 runs.

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#1 Varun Chakaravarthy

Varun Chakaravarthy claimed his first five-wicket haul for India in South Africa in November 2024. India had the difficult task of defending a low total of 124. Varun led India's fight with a magnificent spell of 5/17, picking up the wickets of Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller. However, South Africa eventually won the game by three wickets.

His second fifer against England also came in a losing cause. Chakaravarthy claimed the wickets of Jos Buttler, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, and Jofra Archer. Despite his figures of 5/24, India fell short in the end and lost the game by 26 runs. Chakaravarthy was named the Player of the Match despite the team's defeat.