Varun Chakravarthy has dismissed Buttler five times in T20s: Stats
What's the story
Indian leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy made a huge impact in the recently-concluded T20I series against England. He troubled several batters in the series, including the dashing England skipper Jos Buttler. The fifth and final T20I in Mumbai saw the mystery spinner dismiss Buttler with his very first delivery. Overall, Chakravarthy dismissed Buttler thrice across four meetings in the series. Here we decode their battle in T20 cricket.
Battle
Chakravarthy joins Bhuvneshwar
As mentioned, Chakravarthy sent back Buttler thrice across four clashes in the recent series. The latter managed 19 runs off as many deliveries in this battle, inclduing a six. According to ESPNcricinfo, Chakravarthy's compatriot and veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only other bowler to trap Buttler three times in a bilateral T20I series. The veteran pacer scripted the milestone in the 2021 home series.
Dominance
Chakravarthy's overall record against Buttler
The 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) marked Chakravarthy and Buttler 's first meeting in T20 cricket. So far, the former has dismissed the England star five times across eight T20 meetings. However, Buttler has aggregated 76 runs off 49 balls in this regard while striking at a brilliant 155.10. Since 2020, only Bhuvneshwar (7) has dismissed Buttler more times than Chakravarthy in the 20-over format.
Series performance
Chakravarthy's successful series
Chakravarthy was a standout performer in this T20I series, having won the Player of the Match award at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. He also took five wickets in the third T20I. With 14 wickets at 9.86, he was the highest wicket-taker of the series as India sealed the five-match affair 4-1. The spinner was also named the Player of the Series. Meanwhile, Buttler was the second-highest run-getter in the series, having managed 146 runs at a strike rate of 137.7.