I Didn’t Expect A Hattrick As The Start Was No Good, Says Kuldeep Yadav

Sep 22, 2017 at 2:16 PM

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I Didn’t Expect A Hattrick As The Start Was No Good, Says Kuldeep Yadav

India went up 2-0 in the 5-match series against Australia with their latest win at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The match was yet again a one-sided contest which saw India ultimately maintain an upper hand over the visitors at all stages of the game.

There were many highlights of the game; for example – half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni swift works behind the stumps and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s excellent spell of swing bowling.

But, among all these exciting moments, the best and most intriguing one came from the hands of Kuldeep Yadav who entered the cricketing history by becoming only the third Indian to claim an ODI hat-trick.

After being introduced in the 16th over, Kuldeep joined the list of elites when he removed Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, and Pat Cummins off consecutive balls in the 33rd over to become the third Indian after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev to take a hat-trick in ODIs.

Incidentally, Eden Gardens witnessed its third hattrick as previously Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh also registered similar feats.

Speaking about the feeling of achieving such an unusual feat, Kuldeep said that he never expected it to happen and all he desired for was a single wicket to add more pressure on the Australians.

“It feels really special now, as that start was not good. With the kind of start I had, I never thought I would end up taking a hat-trick. I did not bowl well from one end and it was getting difficult to grip the ball as it was getting wet.”

“When my end was changed, I wanted to pick one wicket to put the pressure back on Australia. A partnership was built and it was crucial for us to get a breakthrough at that moment. I wanted to try out my variations, but was looking to land the ball in the right areas.”

Kolkata has been a special place for him in his short cricketing career. The chinaman first gained limelight after getting picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders and also made his IPL debut at the same venue.

“I have been playing at the Eden Gardens for a few years now as it is KKR’s home ground. The pitch was familiar. It felt like a home ground to me today as well when I stepped out and that is why I wanted to leave a big imprint.”

Kuldeep first wicket came in the form of Mathew Wade who played on a wide orthodox delivery onto his stumps. The second wicket was of another Aston Agar was trapped leg before by a fuller delivery, and the hattrick was completed by a wrong’un which took an edge and went into the glove of MS Dhoni.

“For the hat-trick ball, I didn’t think I would get a wicket if the ball spun in. The only way in that scenario would have been a bat-pad opportunity. There was a slip in place so I chose the wrong’un.”

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