Watch: Varun Chakravarthy's double put India in strong position

In the crucial moment of the first innings of the Kolkata T20I, Indian in-form spinner Varun Chakravarthy brought double blows for the English side to guide the Indian team to the top of the game. 

Although England were losing wickets from the first over, English skipper Jos Buttler was in the attacking mood, which was the beginning of the new era of Bazball in white ball cricket. Thanks to his batting, England scored 46 runs despite losing both the openers cheaply. 

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Varun Chakravarthy bowled Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone

In the next over at the end of the powerplay, Indian vice-captain Axar Patel conceded 15 runs, including two sixes. So, it was a very crucial time for both teams, while Varun Chakravarthy broke the visitors' confidence with two wickets in his second over, as the leg-spinner bowled two dangerous batters Harry Brook (17) and Liam Livingstone (0). Those wickets put the visitors down to 65/4. It was just the beginning of England's batting struggle in the evening. 

 

VARUN, THE MAGICIAN OF T20I. 💪 pic.twitter.com/VEuGUEjMMn

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 22, 2025

Varun Chakravarthy won the Player of the Match award after India won comfortably

Only the English skipper Jos Buttler managed to produce some fight. The right-handed batter scored 68 off 44 balls before becoming the third victim of Varun Chakravarthy in the match. The Indian spinner ended the evening with the bowling figures of 4-0-23-3 which led the visitors to manage only 132 runs in 20 overs as there was no other 20s. In reply, India comfortably chased down the target in 12.5 overs after losing three wickets as the opener Abhishek Sharma produced a stormy batting of 79 runs in just 34 balls. 

While India have taken a 1-0 lead in the series with a dominating win, Varun Chakravarthy won the Player of the Match award for his incredible bowling performance. It was his first Player of the Match award in his T20I career.