Kuldeep Yadav becomes 1st Indian to take two hat-tricks in international cricket
India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav on Wednesday scripted history by becoming the first cricketer from the country to grab two hat-tricks in the international cricket.
The 25-year-old achieved the landmark during the second One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series between India and West Indies at the YS Rajashekara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
It was in the 33rd over of West Indies’ innings when Kuldeep removed Shai Hope (78), Jason Holder (11) and Alzarri Joseph (0) in the last three balls to take his hat-trick.
Shai Hope was caught at deep midwicket on the fourth delivery of the 33rd over after Indian skipper Virat Kohli took an excellent catch. Subsequently, Jason Holder (11) was stumped by Rishabh Pant on the very next delivery while Joseph was taken by Kedar Jadhav at the second slip on the last delivery of the over.
Kuldeep Yadav had picked up his first hat-trick for India during an ODI match against Australia in Kolkata in 2017.
Meanwhile, India went on to crush West Indies by 107 runs in the second ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Asked to bat first, Rohit (159) and Rahul (102) not only notched up a century each but also stitched a mammoth partnership of 227 runs for the opening wicket to help the Men in Blue post a good total of 387 for five in their 50 overs.
En route to his blistering 150-run knock, Rohit (1,427) also surpassed Kohli (1,292) to become the highest run-getter in ODIs in 2019.
Besides the duo, Shreyas Iyer (53 off 32 balls) and Rishabh Pant (39 off just 16 balls) were also notable contributors for the hosts.
In reply, Shai Hope (78) and Nicholas Pooran (75) came up with decent performance with the bat but Mohammad Shami bagged three wickets while Kuldeep Yadav finished with three for 52 to help India bundle out West Indies for 280 in 43.3 overs. Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur also chipped in with a wicket each.
India will now take on West Indies in the series-deciding third ODI on December 22 at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
