Varun Chakaravarthy is arguably the most lethal spinner in T20Is right now. The numbers speak for themselves and the Tamil Nadu lad is ranked no.1 on the ICC bowling rankings in the shortest format. India's dominance in T20Is over the last 18 months has had Varun playing a key role as the team's genuine wicket taker.
However, Varun seems to have a weird pattern in his career when it comes to facing South Africa. Of his 69 wickets in T20Is, exactly one-third of them, 23 scalps, have come against South Africa at a sensational average. However, his economy rate against the Proteas is also his worst against any team in this format.
On Sunday (February 22) during the India-South Africa Super 8s encounter, Varun once again leaked runs as went for 47 off his four overs with a solitary wicket to show. That breakthrough, though, was a big one of a well-set David Miller who seemed set for a potential hundred with the way he was batting. Nevertheless, it was a poor outing for Varun on a very flat batting surface.
When you take Varun's most expensive spells in T20Is, the top four are all matches that involve South Africa, making it a weird pattern. It tells you that while he has taken wickets against them, the Proteas have also had much more success than other teams while trying to attack Varun.
It seemed like the mystery spinner might end up wicketless but the scalp of Miller maintained a stunning streak for Varun. It's now 18 games in a row since Varun has picked up at least a wicket in T20Is. He overtook Arshdeep Singh (17) for the most games without going wicketless in T20Is. The overall list is dominated by the likes of Sandeep Lamichhane (26), Wanindu Hasaranga (23) and Adil Rashid (21).
Varun has the chance to break into the top-3 by beating Rashid, if he keeps this form going in the T20 World Cup. If that happens, India have a huge chance of defending their title.
