WATCH | Knight Rider Varun makes Eden Gardens erupt by dismantling deceived Hope's poles

India took to the field against the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday in a 2026 T20 World Cup virtual quarterfinal, with the winner assured to join South Africa as the two teams to qualify from their Super Eigths group. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to chase, denying West Indies any chance of repeating their 2016 heroics where they defeated England in the final in superfluous fashion. Regardless, the visitors took the early upper hand, going through the pwoerplay unbeaten before putting on the burns to race to 66/0 in eight overs. SKY decided the time was ripe to bring Varun Chakaravrthy to the game, and boy was he right.

Varun struck a mental blow early by rapping Roston Chase on the pads with just his second ball, albeit the ballwas not going on to hit the stumps. Two deliveries later, he spun one away from Shai Hope to make him play and miss with a cut, as the skipper struggled on a run-a-ball 32. The trap had been set, as Varun pitched the ball in a similar area yet again just a bit closer to the stumps, but this time it was the googly instead of the leg spinner. By the time Hope, realized it, he had already committed to the cut and the Kookaburra decked into him ferociously before smashing the middle stump bang in the centre. The Kolkata crowd exploded with joy, with their IPL legend now making a mark wearing the prestigious Indian blue in an effective knoc-out encounter.

Twitterati reacted no differently than those at the Garden.