Kuldeep Yadav turns 31: A look at his top 5 performances in international cricket

Harsh Adwani

Kuldeep Yadav's birthday [Source: @BCCI/x.com]Kuldeep Yadav's birthday [Source: @BCCI/x.com]

India’s ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav is turning 31 today, 14th December. The left-handed wrist-spinner has established himself as a mainstay for India across all three formats. His consistent impact on the team has earned him an assured spot in the Indian setup.

The 31-year-old made his debut for India in 2017 across all three formats and quickly established himself as a worthy team member with a T20I five-for and an ODI six-for against England in 2018.

Kuldeep has now transitioned to being India’s main spinner, especially in the overseas conditions. On that note, let’s have a look at Kuldeep Yadav’s top 5 performances in international cricket across formats.

5. 5/99 vs Australia, Sydney, 2019 (Test)

This performance against Australia was Kuldeep Yadav’s first-ever five-wicket haul in a SENA country. The 2019 tour of Australia was historic for India, and the Chinaman bowler certainly had a part to play in that game.

After India had scored 622 runs in the first innings, the bowlers had the task of just bowling tight. Kuldeep did exactly that and went on to take an impressive five-wicket haul, restricting Australia to just 300. The match eventually ended in a draw after India enforced the follow-on.

4. 5/40 vs Bangladesh, Chattogram, 2022 (Test)

India had scored 404 runs in the first innings on a wicket that looked really good to bat on. In the next innings, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav got rid of the top order early, and Kuldeep was brought into the attack after that.

The Kanpur-born cricketer, returning to Test cricket after nearly two years, ran through the Bangladeshi middle order, including the key wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan. His five-wicket haul and a 40-run cameo with the bat in the first innings and three wickets in the second innings helped India easily secure a 188-run win.

3. 5/17 vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2023 (T20I)

The partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal (60 runs off 41 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (100 runs off 56 balls) put a huge challenge of chasing down 202 runs in front of South Africa. The bowlers then did their job brilliantly to defend the target.

After a few early wickets, Kuldeep Yadav was brought into the attack, and he delivered immediately. After being struck for a six off a poor delivery, he bounced back brilliantly to dismiss Donovan Ferreira with a ball that stayed low. His five-wicket haul restricted the Proteas to just 95 runs and helped India win by a massive margin of 106 runs.

2. 5/25 vs Pakistan, Colombo, 2023 (ODI)

In the first innings, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s masterful centuries helped India set a massive target of 357 runs in the high-stakes clash. After that, Kuldeep Yadav did his magic and dismantled Pakistan’s batting order.

He was introduced in the 18th over of the game and got the ball to skid and turn off the pitch. He wasn’t afraid of giving the ball a flight, and that helped him send the middle order back to the dressing room. He returned the figures of 5/25 and helped India register their biggest win over Pakistan (228 runs).

1. 6/25 vs England, Trent Bridge, 2018 (ODI)

This series against England truly established Kuldeep Yadav as the best in white-ball cricket. He was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI leg and was the second-highest wicket-taker in T20Is. His best performance of the series came in the first ODI of the series at Trent Bridge.

He single-handedly caused a major batting collapse for England as he took the key wickets of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler, all of whom could have taken away the match. He returned to take two more wickets to restrict the home side to 268 runs, which India chased down in 40 overs.