Kolkata: Kuldeep Yadav became the third Indian after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev to bag an ODI hat-trick.
Kuldeep, bowling his eighth over, dismissed Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins off successive deliveries in the 33rd over of the Australian innings to derail their chase of 253 in the second ODI at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
A hat-trick for @imkuldeep18. He becomes the third Indian to achieve this feat, after Kapil Dev and Chetan Sharma #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/1VNgiDUvzj
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 21, 2017
Playing only his ninth ODI, Kuldeep was under pressure, having conceded 39 runs in 7 overs in a low-scoring affair.
However, with constant tactical supervision from MS Dhoni behind the stumps, Kuldeep continued to unleash his variety and put Australia under pressure.
Eventually in his eighth over, Kuldeep ripped apart Australia’s lower-order as India took a stanglehold of the match.
Kuldeep stormed into the international scene earlier this year in the Dharamsala Test against Australia when he replaced an injured Virat Kohli. His impressive spells against the visitors left observers impressed.
Later in 2017, Kuldeep made his ODI debut in the West Indies and snared eight wickets by the end of the series. In Sri Lanka, the left-arm chinaman spinner took three wickets from the last two ODIs he played in.
Incidentally, Kuldeep achieved the feat in his IPL homeground. He plays for two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders and is an integral part of their bowling attack.
