Kuldeep Yadav becomes first cricketer to pick 5-wicket hauls in all formats in a year
Kuldeep Yadav became the first bowler to pick 5-wicket hauls in all the formats in a year. He achieved the feat in the Test match against Windies on 6 October at Rajkot.
Kuldeep Yadav is a left-arm chinaman bowler hailing from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is the only chinaman bowler India has ever produced. His debuted in Test-match cricket against Australia at Dharamsala on 25 March 2017 where he claimed a 4-wicket haul by dismissing David Warner, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins in the first innings of the match.
Kuldeep picked his first 5-wicket haul in his international career against England on 3 July at Old Trafford. His bowling figures read 4-0-24-5 and he dismissed Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root. With this achievement, he became the first Indian bowler and first chinaman bowler to claim a 5-wicket haul in a T20I in England. With the help of a century by KL Rahul, India chased the target of 160 and won the match by eight wickets. Kuldeep won the Player of the Match award.
Kuldeep's first fifer in ODIs was against England on 12 July at Trent Bridge. His bowling figures were 10-0-25-6 where he dismissed Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and David Willey. With this spell, he earned a record of the best bowling figures by a spinner in a One Day International in England. Also, he registered the third-best bowling figures by an Indian bowler in ODIs. With the help of Rohit Sharma's 137* and Kohli's 75, India chased the target of 269 and won the match by eight wickets. Kuldeep won the Player of the Match award.
Kuldeep didn't have a great outing in the Test series against England though. He was dropped after the second Test of the series but returned in style against Windies, picking up his maiden fifer in the second innings of the match. His bowling figures in the innings were 14-2-57-5. He picked up the wickets of Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Sunil Ambris and Roston Chase.
With this feat, he became the first bowler to claim 5-wicket hauls in all the formats in a year. As a result, India won by an innings and 272 runs.