India batter Tilak Varma became the most successful fielder in men’s T20Is in a calendar year after taking six catches in the second T20 International (T20I) against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval on Saturday.
The Indian young-man came up with the achievement when helping the visitors hover pressure on the homes in the progressing five-match series.
Varma’s record-breaking feat was his first wicket of New Zealand’s innings when he had Tim Seifert and Daryl Mitchell caught.
Seifert batted for seven runs of six balls before he was caught off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling. Mitchell scored six runs in five balls before he was caught off Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The two dismissals were an important breakthrough for India.
India had a 1-0 lead in the series going into the match after beating the hosts by four wickets in the opening game of the series to chase down 226 in Christchurch.
The second game saw the visitors make a change to their playing XI with Prince Yadav replacing Mayank Yadav. New Zealand, on the other hand, were eager to draw level on home turf.
Apart from Varma’s impressive batting, his fielding performance is a further feather in his cap as India tries to make its mark in the series.
After the Christchurch game, they have three more games to go to maintain their momentum and sustain their dominance in the shortest format.