India vs South Africa: Varun Chakaravarthy beats Rashid Khan in elite list after going past 50 T20I wickets

Varun Chakaravarthy continues to be India's major trump card in T20Is. The Tamil Nadu spinner finished with excellent figures of (4-0-11-2) during the third T20I against South Africa in Dharamsala on Sunday (December 14), thereby getting past the coveted landmark of 50 international wickets in the shortest format.

The 50th wicket came off a trademark Chakaravarthy delivery, the googly that completely foxed Donovan Ferreira who missed the slog sweep to see the stumps disturbed behind him. Chakaravarthy became the second-fastest Indian to the landmark of 50 T20I wickets in terms of matches played, second only to his teammate Kuldeep Yadav.

Meanwhile, Chakaravarthy also stormed into the top-five list of the fastest bowlers (spinners) to get to this milestone in terms of balls bowled. The 34-year-old is the fourth fastest spinner to the milestone, overtaking the likes of Imran Tahir (5th) and Rashid Khan (6th) in the elite list that is headed by Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis.

Kuldeep Yadav is India's fastest to 50 T20I wickets in terms of balls bowled and second in the overall list of spinners with Wanindu Hasaranga at third spot. Meanwhile, Chakaravarthy and Yadav are the two most dominant spinners in T20Is at the moment, which makes the prospect of playing them together a tempting option.

Among active bowlers who have taken a minimum of 50 T20I wickets among full-member nations, Kuldeep Yadav has the best average (13.17) and strike-rate (11.50) while Chakaravarthy is second in the list (average 15.00 and strike rate (13.3). The Tamil Nadu-KKR spinner also extended his stunning form against South Africa in T20Is: 18 wickets in seven games at an average of 10.94.