Kuldeep Yadav joined an elite-list during the second India-Australia ODI in Kolkata. He became only the third Indian after Kapil Dev (1991) and Chetan Sharma (1987) to take a hat-trick in an ODI.
Kuldeep dismissed Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins in the 33rd over to help India defeat Australia by 50 runs and go 2-0 up in five-match series.
After the match, Kuldeep revealed how he planned for the hat-trick bowl. He told Sanjay Manjrekar during the presentation ceremony that it was MS Dhoni‘s advice that helped him reach the landmark. Before the hat-trick ball, he asked Dhoni what he should bowl to which the former Indian captain said that he should bowl what he wants to bowl and nothing special.
“Mahi bhai (Dhoni) what I should bowl, he said ‘tujhe jaisa lagta hai wo daal (bowl what you want)’. This is special for me, changed the game for us. Really proud moment,” Kuldeep said.