Varun Chakravarthy Claims Maiden ODI Wicket: Varun Chakravarthy’s dream run continued as he received his ODI debut cap on Sunday at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack ahead of the 2nd ODI against England. This was further an indication that India are looking to include Chakravarthy in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad, having initially excluded him from their 15-man preliminary squad.
Chakravarthy made an immediate impact in Cuttack as he dismissed the dangerous England opener Phil Salt in only his second over, providing India with their first breakthrough of the match.
As they did in Nagpur in the first ODI, Salt and Duckett provided England a solid start. Today, in Cuttack, the duo added 75 runs in the first 10 overs, but the right-hander soon fell to Chakravarthy.
Chakravarthy’s first over was the ninth over of England’s innings, and it only went for four runs. In his next over, he got rid of Salt as the England opener tried to put pressure on Chakravarthy, who had bamboozled the England batsmen during their 4-1 T20I series defeat earlier.
This time, too, Salt failed to punish Chakravarthy. Salt attempted a slog to a leg-break from Varun but top-edged it. It went high in the air but not far as Ravindra Jadeja took a calm catch at mid-on. This way, Chakravarthy claimed his maiden ODI wicket and also broke England’s 81-run opening stand.
[Watch] Varun Chakravarthy Claims Maiden ODI Wicket In Only His 2nd Over On ODI Debut
#VarunChakaravarthy strikes on debut!
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 9, 2025#TeamIndia gets a crucial breakthrough as Salt departs after a strong opening stand!
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On a pitch that helped the spinners a bit, Varun Chakravarthy bowled well to keep the run flow under control. On his ODI debut, Chakravarthy finished with figures of 1/54 in 10 overs. Jadeja took three wickets for the second game in a row.
Meanwhile, indications suggest Chakravarthy is going to be added to India’s Champions Trophy squad. At the moment, it seems that Washington Sundar, who has been on the bench in the two ODIs in this series so far, will be replaced by Chakravarthy.
Varun Chakravarthy has been in outstanding T20I form since his return to the T20I side last year. He’s picked up 31 wickets in 12 T20Is at an average of only 11.25 with two five-wicket hauls. India are hoping to use his T20I form in ODIs as well. He also has excellent List-A numbers to back up his selection: 59 wickets in 23 List A matches at an average of only 14.13, with four five-wicket hauls.
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