Varun Chakravarthy bags maiden wicket to dismiss Phil Salt in 2nd IND vs ENG ODI 2025 [Watch]

Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy claimed his maiden ODI wicket by sending the dangerous Phil Salt back to the pavilion in the second of the three-match series against England on Sunday, February 9. The match is being played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

The dismissal came on the fifth ball of the 11th over of England’s innings. Varun bowled a conventional leg-spin delivery, floating it fuller on middle and off. Salt tried to clear his front leg and slog it across, but mistimed the shot, sending the ball high into the air toward mid-on. Ravindra Jadeja, known for his fielding, took an easy catch.

The wicketkeeper-batter made 26 runs off 29 balls, including two boundaries and one six. His wicket left England at 81/1 after 10.5 overs.

Here’s a video of the wicket:

This marks Varun Chakravarthy’s first-ever wicket in ODI cricket on his debut. Although he was initially not part of the squad for the series, he was added to the team ahead of the first ODI. He was rewarded for his stellar performance in the T20I series against England, where he claimed 14 wickets in five matches.

The 33-year-old spinner also has an excellent List-A record, with 59 wickets in 23 games, including four five-wicket hauls.

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Varun Chakravarthy provides first breakthrough for hosts as England make a decent start in the 2nd ODI

England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat, making three changes to the visiting side. Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, and Mark Wood replaced Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, and Jofra Archer. For India, Virat Kohli and Varun Chakravarthy came in for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kuldeep Yadav, respectively.

The English opening pair of Phil Salt and Ben Duckett made a solid start, putting on 35 runs in the first five overs. On the final delivery of the sixth over from Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel dropped a simple catch at deep backward point, giving Salt a reprieve on six.

Debutant Varun Chakravarthy struck the first blow for the hosts, dismissing Salt for 26 and breaking the 81-run opening partnership. England started well, and at the time of writing, they were 116/2 after 10 overs, with Joe Root and Harry Brook in the middle.