Top 5 best bowling figures by an Indian in Men's T20Is ft. Varun Chakravarthy

India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy carried his fine form into the second T20I against South Africa and picked up a brilliant five-wicket haul to enter his name in the history books. With his 5/17, Chakravarthy registered the fourth-best bowling figures by an Indian bowler in men’s T20Is.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the four-match T20I series, India locked horns with South Africa in the second T20I on Sunday, November 10, at St George's Oval in Gqeberha. Though the batters couldn’t impress and put up only 124 runs on board, the bowlers shone bright with Chakravarthy taking charge to defend the low total.

The legbreak-googly bowler showcased class on the field and helped India get close to a win before the hosts eventually won the game. With that, he also registered his career-best bowling figures in the game’s shortest format.

On that note, let us look at the five best bowling figures by an Indian in men's T20Is:

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#5 Kuldeep Yadav

During India’s tour of South Africa in 2023, the visitors posted a humongous total of 201/7 on board in the third and final T20I, courtesy of skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s century and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 41-ball 60. Notably, no other Indian batter scored over 15 runs in this game.

Defending 202, Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav put up a show on display as he ran through the Proteas’ middle and lower-order. He opened his account by dismissing Donovan Ferreira and went on to pick the wickets of Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, and David Miller to complete a five-for.

With that, Kuldeep finished the game with figures of 5/17 to his name in just 2.5 overs, at an economy of 6.00.

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#4 Varun Chakravarthy

The newest entrant to the list of Indians with the best bowling figure in men’s T20I, Varun Chakravarthy, as mentioned earlier, achieved the feat in the second T20I against South Africa. Notably, India are touring the nation for a four-match T20I series.

Indian batters weren’t very impressive, as the Men in Blue could only get to a total of 124 runs, thanks to some sensible batting display by Hardik Pandya. While it looked like an easy win for the Proteas, the Aiden Markram-led side were given a run for their money as Chakravarthy spiced things up.

He started by dismissing the opposition skipper and then scalped the prized wickets of Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller. At the end of his four-over spell, Chakravarthy had figures of 5/17 next to his name and he achieved the feat at an economy of 4.25, bettering Kuldeep Yadav’s numbers.

Notably, this was Chakravarthy’s maiden five-wicket haul in T20 Internationals, but his efforts went in vain as South Africa clinched victory from the jaws of defeat to level the series 1-1.

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#3 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Indian quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar registered mind-boggling figures of 5/4 in four overs during India’s clash against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup. The game is remembered by almost every Indian cricket fan, as Virat Kohli hit a century to put an end to his poor run of form across formats.

Thanks to KL Rahul’s 41-ball 62 and Kohli’s 122*(61), India posted a 213-run target. Defending the total, Bhuvneshwar Kumar ripped apart the opposition’s batting order by picking up four wickets in the first three overs, and then another in the seventh over to complete his five-wicket haul.

His spell also included a maiden over as he achieved the feat by clocking a fine economy of 1.00, conceding only four runs in as many overs. India eventually won the game by a whopping 101-run margin.

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#2 Yuzvendra Chahal

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

Yuzvendra Chahal became the first Indian bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in the T20I format when he achieved the feat in February 2017, when India faced England at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Courtesy of half-centuries by Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, India posted 202/6 in their quota of 20 overs. England’s innings started on a low note as Chahal dismissed their opener Sam Billings for a golden duck in the second over. Nonetheless, top-order batters Joe Root and Jason Roy found the momentum and carried the game forward.

The game was then dominated by Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah, as they ran through England’s batting lineup and shared nine wickets between them, with the spinner picking up six. Chahal ended with figures of 6/25 in his four-over spell and became the first-ever Indian bowler to bag a six-wicket haul in T20Is.

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#1 Deepak Chahar

In the third T20I during Bangladesh’s tour of India in 2019, Indian pacer Deepak Chahar matched Chahal’s feat by picking up a six-wicket haul, becoming the fourth Indian bowler to pick a five-for. He was named the Player of the Match for his heroics with the ball and also clinched the Player of the Series award.

India posted 174/5 in 20 overs after batting first. Bangladesh, chasing 175, were blown away by Chahar and Shivam Dube’s antics with the ball. The duo ran through the opposition’s batting unit and left no stone unturned.

Mohammad Naim was the top scorer for Bangladesh as he hit a 48-ball 81, but no other batter managed to stand up to the team’s expectations as the visitors were bowled out for 144. Deepak Chahar’s victims included Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Aminul Islam, Shafiul Islam, and Mustafizur Rahman.

Chahar registered figures of 6/7 in 3.2 overs, thereby bettering Chahal’s numbers. This achievement by Chahar, to date, remains the best bowling figure for India in Men’s T20Is.