Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 8 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Varun Chakravarthy completed 100 wickets in his Indian Premier League (IPL) career on Wednesday.
The spinner achieved this milestone during his side’s IPL match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
During the game, Chakravarthy led the KKR bowling attack from the front, with a four-over spell of 2/18. He got wickets of Ravindra Jadeja and in-form Dewald Brevis during the defence of 180 runs, which KKR failed to do.
Now in 83 matches, Varun has 100 wickets at an average of 23.31, with an economy rate of 7.47 and best figures of 5/20. This also includes one wicket for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in his solitary game for the franchise in 2019. For KKR, he is their third-highest wicket-taker with 99 wickets in 82 matches at an average of 23.19, next to Andre Russell (124) and Sunil Narine (208), two of the franchise’s biggest legends.
He is the joint-fastest among spinners to 100 IPL wickets, joining Indian veteran Amit Mishra and Afghanistan superstar Rashid Khan (83 innings each), outdoing Indian spinner Yuzi Chahal (84 innings).
This season, Varun is KKR’s top wicket-taker and fifth-highest overall, with 17 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 19.35 and economy rate of 7, with best figures of 3/22.
After winning the toss, KKR opted to bat first. A second wicket 58-run stand between skipper Ajinkya Rahane (48 in 33 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Sunil Narine (26 in 17 balls, with four boundaries and a six) propelled KKR forward with a fine run-rate.
After that, knocks from Andre Russell (38 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Manish Pandey (36* in 28 balls, with a four and six) helped KKR reach 179/6 in their 20 overs.
Noor Ahmed (4/31) topped the bowling charts for CSK while Anshul Kambhoj and Ravindra Jadeja got a piece each.
In the run-chase, CSK was reduced to 60/5 in 5.2 overs. A counter-attacking 51 from Dewald Brevis (in 25 balls, with four fours and four sixes) and his 67-run stand with Shivam Dube brought back some momentum to the Men in Yellow. Dube (45 in 40 balls, with two fours and three sixes) continued being the aggressor in his 43-run partnership with skipper MS Dhoni, taking CSK to the brink of a win.
However, in a twist, Vaibhav Arora got both Dube and Noor Ahmed in the penultimate over, leaving CSK with eight to get in final over, with two wickets left.
Dhoni (17* in 18 balls, with a six) pulled off the finish fans wanted from him, tonking Andre Russell for a six on first ball of the final over and let Anshul hit the winning runs. CSK finished at 183/8 in 19.4 overs, getting their third win of the season.
Vaibhav Arora leaked runs, but was the pick of the bowlers for KKR with 3/48 in three overs. Varun Chakravarthy (2/18) and Harshit Rana (2/43) were also among the wicket-takers for KKR.
With three wins and nine losses, CSK still stays at the bottom of the points table. KKR currently has 11 points, with five wins, six losses and a no result in 12 matches. Their playoff chances have taken a serious hit as they sit at the sixth spot. (ANI)
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