Asia Cup 2023: Indian bowler Kuldeep Yadav becomes fastest Indian spinner to beat 150 ODI wickets mark
IND vs SL Asia Cup 2023: In the Asia Cup 2023 match between India and Sri Lanka, Indian bowler Kuldeep Yadav entered the elite club and became the fastest Indian spinner to reach 150 ODI wickets mark in just 88 One Day Internationals.
The 28-years-old Chinaman bowler accomplished this milestone against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup Super Four match on Tuesday.
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Kuldeep was absolutely unplayable in the match, taking four wickets for 43 runs in 9.3 overs at an economy rate of 4.52. He took crucial wickets of middle-order batters Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka. Later, he cleaned up the tail by removing Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana.
Now in 88 ODIs, Kuldeep has 150 wickets at an average of 25.64, with the best bowling figures of 6/25. He has taken seven four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls for India in ODIs.
Kuldeep Yadav becomes the second-fastest Indian to reach the mark after pacer Mohammed Shami, who reached 150 wickets in 80 matches. Also, Kuldeep has become the fastest Indian spinner to touch this milestone.
Kuldeep is also the fourth-fastest spinner ever to reach 150 ODI wickets, with Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis (84 matches), Rashid Khan (80 matches) and Saqlain Mushtaq (78 matches) above him.
With nine wickets in four matches, Kuldeep is the leading-wicket taker in the ongoing tournament, having taken a five-wicket haul against arch-rivals Pakistan.
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Notably, India's bowling attack combined to end Sri Lanka's 13 ODI match unbeaten streak and seal their spot in the final of the Asia Cup 2023 with a game to spare, as the hosts bundled out for 172 chasing a paltry target at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.
While spinners from either side dominated the game, the pacers, too, played a part in India's 41-run victory over the co-hosts.
Brief Score: India 213 (Rohit Sharma 53, KL Rahul 39; Dunith Wellalage 5-40) vs Sri Lanka 172 (Dunith Wellalage 42*, Dhananjaya de Silva 41; Kuldeep Yadav 4-43).
- With inputs from agencies
