Left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav is the only Indian bowler to take multiple hat-tricks in international cricket. He has two hat-tricks to his name in ODI cricket with the first coming against Australia in Kolkata in 2017 and then against the West Indies in 2019.
However, not known to many, Kuldeep also has the ability to predict future events, with his second ODI hat-trick being one of them and he shared how he had told his mother that he will take a hat-trick and it happened.
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“For the second hat-trick, you might not believe me, but I had told my mom that day that I would take a hat-trick. A lot of times, what I said turned out true. I guess it was just a random moment when we were batting against the Windies that I just realized I would take a hat-trick. Things panned out just the way I had planned,” Kuldeep was quoted as saying by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
Speaking about his first hat-trick which came against Australia in 2017, Kuldeep highlighted the help he received from MS Dhoni who kept wickets in that match.
“I got my first wicket of Matthew Wade and then in the next ball, I plucked Ashton Agar. For the third ball, I asked Mahi bhai what to bowl. When you have so many variations, you get confused. He just let me do whatever I felt was right but suggested that I kept it to the stumps,” Kuldeep said.
“I spoke to Virat bhai and asked him if I could bowl from the other end. He said once Chahal’s spell was over, I could bowl from that end. I struck a very good rhythm and started bowling in the spot,” he added.
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The 25-year further added “I kept a slip and gully in place. Luckily I bowled a good ball and got the edge. Getting a hat-trick at Eden Garden, that too in the first year of international cricket, is a big thing and this was one of the biggest moments of my life.”
Kuldeep also spoke about KKR’s chances in the upcoming IPL 2020.
“I had a strong feeling last year that we would win. Even in 2018, we were playing great cricket and I was sure we would win the title,” said the Indian bowler.
“I remember the match we lost against Sunrisers Hyderabad (in qualifier 2). I was out of the ground because my spell was over. They were on 125 and I thought they would not go beyond 145. But Rashid Khan came into the middle and changed the game. We were just one step away from entering the final. It was a heart-breaking moment when we lost the match. If we can strike a good combination, we can certainly win it this year,” he signed off.
(PTI inputs)
