NEW DELHI: Spinner Varun Chakravarthy made a memorable ICC Champions Trophy debut on Sunday, producing a sensational five-wicket haul as India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs in their final group-stage match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. His performance helped India secure a semi-final clash against Australia after topping Group A with an unbeaten record.
Varun returned figures of 5 for 42, marking the best-ever bowling figures by an Indian in his Champions Trophy debut. He surpassed teammate Mohammed Shami’s 5 for 53 against Bangladesh in India’s tournament opener at the same venue. Overall, it was the second-best bowling performance by an Indian in Champions Trophy history, only behind Ravindra Jadeja’s 5 for 36 against West Indies in the 2013 edition at The Oval.
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Best figures on Champions Trophy debut

Adding another milestone, Varun became the fastest Indian bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in ODIs, achieving the feat in just his second match. The previous record was held by Stuart Binny, who picked up 6 for 4 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in his third ODI in 2014.
Best figures for India in Champions Trophy

The match also made history as the first instance of two five-wicket hauls in a single Champions Trophy game. New Zealand pacer Matt Henry returned identical figures of 5 for 42 during India’s innings, setting the stage for a thrilling contest.

After receiving the ‘Player of the Match’ award, Varun expressed his emotions: “First of all, I did feel nervous in the initial stages. I have not played many matches for India in the ODI format, but as the game went on, I felt better. Virat, Rohit, Shreyas and Hardik were talking to me, and that helped. (On when he knew he was playing) I found out last night. I was definitely expecting to play for the country, but on the other hand, I was nervous. It was not a rank turner, but if you bowled in the right places, it offered assistance. The way Kuldeep, Jaddu, and Axar bowled, even the pace bowlers, it was a total team effort.”
Skipper Rohit Sharma explained the decision to include Varun in the playing XI, stating, “He has something different about him, so we wanted to try and see what he can offer. We haven’t thought much about the next game yet, but it’s a good headache to have.”
With this commanding victory, India now shift focus to the semi-final against Australia, where Varun’s mystery spin could play a key role in India’s title pursuit.