India once again had the Australians on the mat as the hosts enforced a one-sided victory to gain a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series. While Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane scored half-centuries to help India get to a competitive 251 on a difficult track, the chinaman Kuldeep Yadav stole the show with a blazing hattrick in the second innings to send the Aussies packing.
The Eden Gardens in Kolkata witnessed the left-hander pulling off a stunning performance in the 33rd over of Australian innings. Matthew Wade was his first victim as the left-hander tried to cut a delivery outside off but managed to get an inside edge that cannoned into the stumps.
The new man Ashton Agar was treated to a fuller delivery that pitched just in line with the leg stump and turned away from the bat of the batsman who was hit on the pad adjacent to the stumps. A huge shout by the bowler found the agreement of the umpire as he set himself up for the hattrick ball.
Patt Cummins was to face the next ball and he encountered the best delivery Kuldeep Yadav could have bowled for the landmark. A wrong un on the leg stump turned sharply away from Cummins that took the outside edge and MS Dhoni took a safe catch behind the stump.
Kuldeep Yadav was ecstatic and so was the skipper Virat Kohli. The 22-year-old became the 3rd Indian to claim an ODI hattrick after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev. Kapil’s hattrick had also come on the same ground in 1991. Coincidentally, Harbhajan Singh had also claimed his Test hattrick against Australia in the historical Kolkata Test of 2001.
Kuldeep’s over turned out to be a triple-wicket maiden against Australia. He ended with figures of 54/3 from 10 overs as India won the match by 50 runs to go 2-0 in the series.
However, it was not the first time Kuldeep achieved the feat in Indian colors. While playing in the Under-19 World Cup in 2014, he had accounted for a hattrick against Scotland.
Watch the video here.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the magnificent hattrick
In 2014 Kuldeep Yadav took a hat-trick in an U19 World Cup match, now does the same in senior cricket!#INDvAUS
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) September 21, 2017
Take a bow @imkuldeep18 A hattrick ball just doesn't get better than that. #INDvAUS #AUSvIND
— Shubham Khare (@shubhamkhare71) September 21, 2017
Congratulations #KuldeepYadav for a wonderful hat trick.
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 21, 2017
Kuldeep Yadav: wow! Wow! WOW! #HatTrick
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 21, 2017
कुल का दीपक चमक गया….well bowled, Kuldeep Yadav 😊🙌 three balls turned a forgettable outing into one to cherish for the rest of your life!
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 21, 2017
Great achievement @imkuldeep18 congrats for getting a hattrick which doesn't come often #Hattrick #INDvsAUS
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 21, 2017
3 in 3 and all of them through different modes of dismissal, that's the way to do it! Shabash, @imkuldeep18 👏 Lets do a 5 for 😉
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) September 21, 2017
You won't see a better hat trick ball than that from Kuldeep Yadav! So happy for the young man.👏👏👏#HatTrick
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) September 21, 2017
He's just taken his first ODI hat-trick in Kolkata, but it's not the first one @imkuldeep18 has celebrated in an India shirt… pic.twitter.com/26ioVfdxCQ
— ICC (@ICC) September 21, 2017
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
