Chakravarthy’s record continued to improve against Maxwell, who is typically an excellent player against spin but continues to struggle with the mystery that the Indian spinner employs. In his first match back after an injury-enforced absence, the dangerous batter’s dismissal was an awkward one as he made room and completely missed the big shot.

Following the dismissal, former Indian opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth did not shy away from saying it how it is as he commented on the one-sided nature of this matchup. Speaking on his Youtube channel, Srikkanth said: “Glenn Maxwell shakes in his boots whenever Varun Chakaravarthy comes on to bowl. Varun picks up certain batters like a rabbit. Especially when he sees Maxwell, he gobbles him up like a piece of cake.”

Chakravarthy’s dominant record vs Maxwell

While this was certainly a humorous way to look at the encounter, there is no denying there is statistical evidence for how one-sided this equation is. In T20 cricket, Chakravarthy has bowled 33 deliveries to Maxwell. While the Australian batter has managed to score at a strike rate of over 150 by hitting 50 runs, the wickets are where the story lie: Chakravarthy has dismissed Maxwell as many as five times in their meetings.

This means Maxwell suffers from a low average of just 10 against Chakravarthy, a number which would make Indian fans very happy considering what a dangerous hitter Maxwell can be: by having a bowler who can dismiss him once in every seven balls, they have a go-to option should they face Australia in a crucial encounter during next year’s World Cup.

Chakravarthy has so far taken 5 wickets in this series, with Nathan Ellis’ sensational form meaning he is the only bowler across both teams to have a better record. Making the most of atypically slow pitches in Australia, Varun will try and help India seal a dominant series win in the fifth and final T20I to be played in Brisbane.