Varun Chakravarthy vs. Glenn Maxwell: Indian Spinner Dominates Aussie Hitter Yet Again for Sixth Time
Ace spinner Varun Chakravarthy heads the ICC T20I bowlers' rankings, holding the top spot with 799 rating points after consistent performances.
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Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been dismissed six times by Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy. (via NDTV Sports)
The contest between Varun Chakravarthy and Glenn Maxwell has been a one-sided affair, with the mystery spinner having dismissed the latter six times in his career. This pattern continued most recently in the fourth T20I between India and Australia, at the Carrara Oval in Queensland.
In the crucial fourth T20I of the five-match series between the two countries, the Men in Blue triumphed by 48 runs to go ahead with a 2-1 lead. Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh elected to bowl first, giving India an opportunity to set a competitive total. The visitors posted 167/8 on the board, guided by contributions from Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia, chasing down 168 runs, got off to a good start, thanks to a 37-run opening stand between Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Short. However, once the home side lost the two opening batters, no other player could guide the Australians to victory or even cross the 20-run mark. For the Men in Blue, Washington Sundar scalped a three-wicket haul in his 1.2 over-spell, while giving away only three runs.
Axar Patel and Shivam Dube also contributed, taking two wickets each, while the world no. 1-ranked T20I bowler, Varun Chakravarthy, secured the crucial wicket of Glenn Maxwell. Intriguingly, this marked the sixth time in his career that Maxwell was dismissed by the Indian mystery spinner. The 37-year-old was removed by Chakravarthy for a mere two runs off four balls, bowled out by a brilliant googly that landed well outside the off stumps, which Maxwell completely missed.
Varun Chakravarthy gets Glenn Maxwell for the 6th time in 9 innings. pic.twitter.com/cX0J9ZM3e1
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 6, 2025
Prior to the recent dismissal, Maxwell’s numbers against Chakravarthy in T20s, show that the spinner has been the power-hitter’s nemesis throughout. In eight innings, the Australian had scored only 50 runs while facing 33 balls, at an average of just 10 and a strike-rate of 151.51, while getting out five times. In fact, during the 2023 and 2025 editions of the IPL, Chakravarthy completed a rare-double over Maxwell, dismissing the all-rounder twice over the course of a season.
Maxwell’s return to the T20I format was curtailed by Chakravarthy, particularly as he had only recently made a comeback to the side. His previous absence was due to a fractured wrist sustained while training in the nets during the white-ball series against New Zealand.
Still on top: Latest ICC T20I rankings released as Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy retain top spots
Indian T20I stars Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy retained their top spots on the latest ICC Player Rankings for the shortest format of the game. Sharma ranks on top of the batters’ list with 925 rating points, while Charavarthy on the bowlers’ list with 799 rating points.
Beyond Sharma’s dominance, two other Indian players currently feature within the top ten of the T20I Batting Rankings, including Tilak Varma holds the number three position, and captain Suryakumar Yadav is ranked eighth. Shubman Gill saw a modest improvement in his ranking, climbing two places from 33rd to the 31st spot. In bowling, Kuldeep Yadav dropped five places and is now ranked at the 15th spot.
The All-Rounders’ list saw a change at the top, as Indian ace Hardik Pandya, currently sidelined due to injury, experienced a two-place drop, now sits in the 4th spot. Pakistani players have been rewarded for their recent series victory over South Africa, with Saim Ayub soaring to the top spot in the T20I All-Rounder rankings. In batting, Sahibzada Farhan is the highest-ranked batter, at the 11th spot.
Former Pakistani captain Babar Azam, who made his return to the T20I setup after almost a year, jumped nine spots to be ranked 30th on the Batting rankings. He won the Player of the Match award for his 68-run innings off 47 balls in the third and final T20I, against the Proteas.
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