Kolkata: Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (3/54) became only the third Indian to take a hat-trick in ODIs as the hosts demolished Australia by 50 runs in the second ODI here Thursday.
Chasing 253 on a tricky surface, Australia once again had no answer to the guile of wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (2/34) and Kuldeep, who struck at crucial junctures to bundle out the opposition for 202 in 43.1 overs. The victory was India’s eighth in a row in ODIs.
Kuldeep dismissed Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins in successive deliveries of his eighth over, which was a maiden as well, to send the Eden crowd into a frenzy. With the memorable feat, Kuldeep joined Kapil Dev (1991) and Chetan Sharma (1987) in a select club of Indians who have picked up a hat-trick.
Australia seemed helpless again with seven batsmen recording single digit scores. Every time Australia tried to make their way back into the game, Indian spinners responded with a breakthrough, carrying on from the good work done by pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/9) in the early overs.
After quick wickets of Hilton Cartwright and David Warner, Steve Smith (59, 76b, 8×4) and Travis Head (39, 39b, 5×4) got together to resurrect the innings, ending up with a 76-run stand. However, the Australian hopes disappeared with the fall of Smith off a Hardik Pandya (2/56) delivery.
Then Kuldeep joined the party. In the 33rd over, his eighth, he first dismissed Wade in the second delivery when the wicketkeeper-batsman tried to cut but the ball takes an inside edge and hits the stumps. Then he trapped Ashton Agar in front with a loopy leg-break.
The young spinner showed remarkable calm to bowl the wrong one that took a thick edge of Pat Cummins’ bat before landing into the hands of MS Dhoni who took a smart catch behind the stumps. Marcus Stoinis (62 n o, 65b, 6×4, 3×6) waged a lone battle towards the end before Bhuvi finishing things off.
Earlier, skipper Virat Kohli (92, 107b, 8×4) and Ajinkya Rahane (55, 64b, 7×4) made sublime half centuries to take the hosts to 252. The duo added 102 runs after the early departure of Rohit Sharma. The other notable partnership was made between Kohli and Kedar Jadhav (24) – 55 runs for the fourth wicket.
The visitors forged a brilliant fightback with pacers Nathan Coulter-Nile (3/51) and Richardson (3/55) sharing the spoils on a slow Eden Gardens wicket.
Brief scores
India 252 (Virat Kohli 92, Ajinkya Rahane 55; Nathan Coulter-Nile 3/51, Kane Richardson 3/55) bt Australia 202 in 43.1 overs (Marcus Stoinis 62 n o, Steve Smith 59; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/9, Kuldeep Yadav 3/54) by 50 runs.
Indians with hat-trick in ODIs
Bowler Opponent Venue Year
Chetan Sharma New Zealand Nagpur 1987
Kapil Dev Sri Lanka Kolkata 1991
Kuldeep Yadav Australia Kolkata 2017
press trust of india
