Varun Chakravarthy Reaches 100 IPL Wickets Milestone in Thrilling Match

Varun Chakravarthy Achieves 100 Wickets in IPL

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 8: Varun Chakravarthy, the spinner for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), marked a significant milestone by claiming his 100th wicket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during a match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Eden Gardens.

Chakravarthy showcased his skills by leading KKR's bowling attack with an impressive four-over spell, taking 2 wickets for just 18 runs. He dismissed Ravindra Jadeja and the in-form Dewald Brevis while KKR defended a total of 180 runs, which they ultimately could not secure.

In his IPL career spanning 83 matches, Varun has achieved 100 wickets with an average of 23.31 and an economy rate of 7.47, boasting best figures of 5/20. Notably, he also took one wicket for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in his only appearance for them in 2019. For KKR, he ranks as the third-highest wicket-taker with 99 wickets in 82 matches, following legends Andre Russell (124) and Sunil Narine (208).

Chakravarthy is now among the joint-fastest spinners to reach 100 IPL wickets, matching the records of Indian veteran Amit Mishra and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, both achieving this in 83 innings, surpassing Yuzi Chahal's record of 84 innings.

This season, he stands as KKR's leading wicket-taker and fifth overall in the league, having taken 17 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 19.35 and an economy rate of 7, with his best performance being 3/22.

In the match, KKR won the toss and chose to bat first. A solid partnership of 58 runs for the second wicket between captain Ajinkya Rahane (48 runs off 33 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes) and Sunil Narine (26 runs off 17 balls) helped KKR maintain a strong run rate.

Contributions from Andre Russell (38 runs off 21 balls) and Manish Pandey (36* runs off 28 balls) enabled KKR to finish their innings at 179/6 after 20 overs.

Noor Ahmed was the standout bowler for CSK, taking 4 wickets for 31 runs, while Anshul Kambhoj and Ravindra Jadeja each claimed a wicket.

During CSK's chase, they found themselves in trouble at 60/5 within 5.2 overs. However, a counter-attacking 51 from Dewald Brevis (25 balls, with four fours and four sixes) and a 67-run partnership with Shivam Dube shifted the momentum. Dube contributed 45 runs off 40 balls, partnering with skipper MS Dhoni to bring CSK closer to victory.

In a dramatic turn, Vaibhav Arora dismissed both Dube and Noor Ahmed in the penultimate over, leaving CSK needing eight runs in the final over with two wickets remaining.

Dhoni (17* runs off 18 balls) delivered a thrilling finish, hitting a six off Andre Russell's first ball of the last over, allowing Anshul to score the winning runs. CSK concluded their innings at 183/8 in 19.4 overs, securing their third victory of the season.

Despite conceding runs, Vaibhav Arora was KKR's best bowler with figures of 3/48 in three overs, while Varun Chakravarthy (2/18) and Harshit Rana (2/43) also contributed with the ball.

Currently, CSK remains at the bottom of the points table with three wins and nine losses, while KKR holds 11 points with five wins, six losses, and one no result in 12 matches, significantly impacting their playoff prospects as they sit in sixth place.