Record Day in Christchurch: Tilak Varma's 26 Catches Set World Mark, Arshdeep Singh's 38 Wickets Set Indian Mark

Beyond India's four-wicket win in the second T20I, Saturday in Christchurch produced two calendar-year records: vice-captain Tilak Varma took his 2026 T20I catch tally to 26 — the most by any fielder in a calendar year, IANS reported — and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh took his 2026 wicket tally to 38, passing Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Indian record of 37, CricTracker reported.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk24 October 20263 min readRead in all 3 languages

Christchurch, October 24 — India vice-captain Tilak Varma on Saturday completed the most catches as a fielder in a single calendar year in T20I cricket during the second T20I against New Zealand at Hagley Oval, IANS reported. Varma's two catches took his 2026 tally to 26, one more than Indonesia's Danilson Hawoe, who held the previous record with 25 catches in 2025.

Source: IANS via IANS Live

MyKhel, reporting the same milestone, said Varma's first catch came in the second over at cover off Arshdeep Singh to dismiss opener Tim Seifert for seven, and his second in the third over sent back Daryl Mitchell for six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, helping India reduce New Zealand to three wickets for 41 runs in 5.2 overs.

Source: MyKhel

26 catchesTilak Varma in T20Is in 2026 — a calendar-year world record, IANS reported

25 catchesPrevious record: Danilson Hawoe (Indonesia) in 2025

38 wicketsArshdeep Singh in T20Is in 2026 — a calendar-year Indian record

37 wicketsPrevious Indian record: Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2022

IANS said Varma has taken his 26 catches in 30 innings this season, at 0.866 dismissals per innings. The next names on the calendar-year fielding list are Muhammad Waseem of the UAE with 24 catches in 2024 and Sharvin Muniandy of Malaysia with 21 in 2025, IANS and MyKhel reported.

Source: IANS via IANS Live

The same match also produced a bowling record. Arshdeep Singh has become the highest wicket-taker for India in T20 Internationals within a single calendar year, reaching 38 wickets in 2026 during the Christchurch match, CricTracker reported. Arshdeep returned 2 for 33 as New Zealand posted 180 for five, dismissing Seifert early and Glenn Phillips with the final ball of the 18th over, according to CricTracker's account.

Source: CricTracker on Arshdeep Singh

CricTracker said Arshdeep moved past Bhuvneshwar Kumar's previous Indian mark of 37 wickets in 2022, and noted Arshdeep also holds the 36-wicket seasons from 2024 on the same Indian list. India won the match by four wickets to lead the five-match series 2-0; the result itself is reported separately on Awaaz Punjab.

Source: CricTracker on Arshdeep Singh

Sources