WATCH: Varun Chakaravarthy wreaks havoc with 5-wicket haul against Rajasthan in Vijay Hazare Trophy pre-quarterfinal

Pre-quarterfinal stage Vijay Hazare Trophy it started with two stellar encounters today. While Haryana faced with a determined Bengal side in the 1st preliminary quarter-final, Rajasthan were against Tamil Nadu in the second game. Amid rain-streaked spells in both matches, an excellent performance came from the spin sensation Varun Chakraborty who once again impressed as he took 5 wickets for his home side Tamil Nadu and saved the day for the team bowling unit.

Varun Chakaravarthy keeps Tamil Nadu’s hope alive

Varun has had an outstanding domestic season with the ball so far. The 33-year-old has scored 13 goals for his side so far. Another feather in his cap is a 5-wicket haul in the domestic season, making him a standout performer for his team in the pre-quarterfinal encounter.

Specially, the Rajasthan skipper Mahipal Lomror and star dough Deepak Hooda they were the first to be unable to handle Varun’s outstanding bowling spell and were bowled out scoring 60 and 7 runs respectively. Varun then dropped a dangerous look Abhijeet Tomar who scored an emphatic century to give Rajasthan a solid start. However, the opening batsman’s loose shot proved detrimental to his innings.

Kukna Ajay Singh he was next in line with a simple catch to Indrajith in the slips and returned to the pavilion scoring just 2 runs for his side. Tailender Khaleel Ahmed was the last dismissal of the off-spin maestro on the day. This was his first 5-wicket haul in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. A stunning performance from Varun stemmed the run flow for Rajasthan as they were bowled out by Tamil Nadu in 47.3 overs with 267 runs on the board. The leg spinner has featured in 13 T20I matches for India and took 19 wickets for the national side.

Also read: Twitter Reactions: Abhijeet Tomar smashes counter-attacking century against Tamil Nadu in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.

Here’s the video

Spinning the net 🕸️

Varun Chakaravarthy led Tamil Nadu’s bowling action with a fantastic 5⃣ wickets against Rajasthan 🔥

Watch 📽️ all his branks 🔽#VijayHazareTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank

Table of results ▶️ https://t.co/pSVoNE63b2 pic.twitter.com/Lw3Jgrw0ar

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 9, 2025

Varun is aiming for a place at the 2025 Champions Trophy

The Vijay Hazare Trophy can be the right platform for Varun to impress the selectors and get a chance to debut for India in the ODI format and be part of the Indian in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. India are scheduled to play all their matches in the UAE and the lethal spin option may prove useful for the team given the fact that historically the pitch in Dubai has been favorable for spin bowling.

Apart from this, Varun will be looking forward to prove his mettle in the upcoming T20I and ODI series against England on the home field. With Kuldeep Yadav injured, India are looking for a stable alternative in white-ball cricket. Varun has played 22 matches with List A in his career so far and is also a regular starter for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Indian Premier League (IPL).

Also read: Karun Nair breaks 13-year-old List A record in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.