Varun Chakaravarthy dismisses Donovan Ferreira for 5 as South Africa collapse to 50-5 in IND vs SA 2025 1st T20I [Watch]

India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy claimed his first wicket of the game, dismissing Donovan Ferreira in the opening T20I of the five-match series against South Africa. The match is being played on Tuesday, December 9, at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

The breakthrough came on the second delivery of the eighth over of the Proteas’ innings. Varun bowled a good-length delivery just outside off, and Ferreira attempted to slash it through the point region. However, a bit of extra bounce took the outside edge, and Jitesh Sharma held on comfortably behind the stumps.

Watch the video of the wicket here:

The right-handed batter had a disappointing outing, scoring just five runs off seven balls. His dismissal left the Proteas in a difficult position, as the visitors collapsed to 50-5 after 7.2 overs.

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Varun Chakaravarthy strikes twice to put India on top in 1st T20I against SA

Chasing 176, the Proteas endured a disastrous start when Arshdeep Singh removed Quinton de Kock for a duck in the first over. In his next over, the seamer also dismissed Tristan Stubbs for 14 to claim his second wicket.

Meanwhile, skipper Aiden Markram made a run-a-ball 14 before being dismissed by Axar Patel. Hardik Pandya also joined the attack, removing David Miller for one off three balls.

Next, Varun Chakaravarthy struck twice, dismissing Donovan Ferreira (5) and Marco Jansen (12), putting the visitors on the back foot. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah got the better of Dewald Brevis (22) to claim his 100th T20I wicket.

At the time of writing, South Africa were 68-7 after 10.2 overs, with Keshav Maharaj (0) and Anrich Nortje (0) at the crease.

Earlier in the game, Hardik Pandya played a stunning unbeaten 59 off 28 balls, including six fours and four sixes, to power the Men in Blue to 175-6 in 20 overs.