His innocent face and languid bowling action does not convey the fire inside Kuldeep Yadav’s belly. The 22-year-old chinaman bowler from Kanpur created history when he became only the third Indian to take a hat-trick against Australia in Kolkata on Thursday.
The 22-year-old from Kanpur came into his elements in the 33rd over when he came up with three peach deliveries to knock the sail out of the Australians. In a script which will be remembered for a long time, Kuldeep took out Cummins with a leg break and went on to dismiss Wade and Agar with googly’s.
When asked whether he was expecting to take a hat-trick, Kuldeep said he had never dreamt of it “Frankly, I wasn’t expecting to do so well, especially after the fact that I was a bit expensive in the first ODI in Chennai, was also at the back of my mind. But then I was determined to bowl my best and am quite happy that things fell in place,” he said.
Kuldeep was also quick to thank the man who had helped him plot his scirpt– former Indian skipper MS Dhoni.
“Initially I was struggling to bowl in a particular area. It’s a game of cricket, everything happens. Last match, where I was hit for three sixes in an over, was a learning experience. I asked Mahi bhai what I should bowl, he said ‘tujhe jaisa lagta hai wo daal (bowl what you want)’. This (hat-trick) is special for me, changed the game for us. It’s a really proud moment,” Kuldeep said after the match.
It was not the first time that Yadav took a hat-trick for his country. He had also achieved this rare feat when he become the first Indian to take a hat-trick in the U-19 World Cup, achieving the feat against Scotland in the 2014 edition.
“Yes I was happy when I took that hat-trick against Scotland in the under 19 World Cup. It was a big moment for me then but nothing like what I have been able to do now. To take a hat-trick against the Australians is something which I will treasure for the rest of my life,” Kuldeep said.
Kuldeep also said that he is ready to give a good account of himself in the future also. “I am going to work harder to taste success in the future,” he said.
India captain Virat Kohli was also happy with Kuldeep’s show. “Two young spinners (Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal) bowling with a lot of heart, speaks volumes about their characters. Really augurs well for us how the team is shaping up,” Kohli said.
Meanwhile, former India captain Sourav Ganguly was all praise for Kuldeep who termed his spell as a special one..
“It was a special spell. He bowled brilliantly. He still has a long way to go and is an asset for the team,” Ganguly said .
In Test cricket, Harbhajan Singh notched up a treble here in 2001 against Australia in the second Test, a match Ganguly captained. Asked to compare the two feats, Ganguly said: “I cannot compare. But this is certainly among the very best. He needs to continue the good work he is doing.”