[Watch] Magical Kuldeep Yadav fools and clean bowls Glenn Maxwell in IND vs AUS 2024 T20 World Cup match
India's wrist-spinning savior Kuldeep Yadav bowled a peach to take the crucial wicket of Glenn Maxwell against Australia at the 2024 T20 World Cup Super Eights game in St. Lucia on Monday. The Aussie all-rounder was batting like a dream, having hit two fours and a six in his first 10 balls, but had to go back for 20 (12).
It happened on the first ball of the 14th over. Maxwell walked down the crease to put the tweaker under pressure but Kuldeep, thanks to his sharp vigilance, shortened his length just enough. Maxwell swung through for a hoick but never covered the dip of the ball. It turned to beat his edge and rattled the stumps.
Watch the video here:
This was the first time Kuldeep dismissed Maxwell in T20Is. However, he has had immense success against him in ODIs too, with five dismissals, including four bowled. The Victorian often tries to compensate for his lack of reading of Kuldeep's variations with his aggression which has just refused to work.
Kuldeep Yadav's wicket of Glenn Maxwell drags India back into the game
It was a match-altering moment. Maxwell, alongside Travis Head, had helped Australia recover from 87/2 to 128/2. They were cruising in the chase and except for Kuldeep, every other Indian bowler was facing the brunt of their aggression.
After the wicket, floodgates opened. Axar Patel got rid of Marcus Stoinis and then Jasprit Bumrah finally got a bit of revenge on Head.
Maxwell's dismissal was also Kuldeep's second of the game. He previously got rid of captain Mitchell Marsh at 37 (28). Then, he took a great catch at slips of Arshdeep Singh's bowling off wicketkeeper-batter Mathew Wade.
The tweaker's spell allowed India to seal a qualification spot in the semi-finals against England on Jun 27. Australia and Afghanistan's fate will now depend on what happens in the latter's match against Bangladesh on Tuesday.