India staged a surprising comeback in the third T20I match, which was played on August 8 at Providence Stadium in Guyana after losing the previous two T20Is against the West Indies. Kuldeep Yadav’s superb bowling performance and Suryakumar Yadav’s punishing knock helped Hardik Pandya and company defeat the hosts by seven wickets.
Kuldeep Yadav, who lost the toss and chose to bowl first, took three wickets to help India restrict West Indies to 158/5. In his four-over tenure, the 28-year-old finished with great stats of 3/28. The number one T20I batter, Suryakumar, led India’s effort in the chase by hitting 83 off 44.
Even though Suryakumar was widely congratulated for the victory, famous Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar emphasised Kuldeep’s efforts and claimed the veteran actually won the game. “Surya was fantastic again, but for me, Kuldeep was the true match-winner. removing three top order wickets, including Pooran’s, to reduce WI to 159. I’m proud of you, Kuldeep,” the 58-year-old tweeted.
Check out this tweet from Sanjay Manjrekar:
Surya was brilliant again but Kuldeep the real match winner for me. Restricting WI to 159 by taking 3 top order wickets including that of Pooran. Well done Kuldeep! 👏👏👏
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 9, 2023
Kuldeep is the quickest Indian reach 50 wickets in 20-over matches.
By playing in the most T20I matches, Kuldeep broke the record for fastest Indian to reach 50 wickets in the format. During the third Twenty20 International of the present five-game series in the West Indies, the seasoned spinner accomplished the feat.
In his 30th T20I game for the Men in Blue, he achieved the milestone, breaking the previous mark of his colleague and top T20I wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal, who had 50 wickets in 34 games.
Brandon King, a West Indies opener, was caught and bowled for 42 in the 15th over of the first innings to become Kuldeep’s 50th T20I wicket. The 28-year-old also dismissed Johnson Charles and the dangerous Nicholas Pooran during the match.
For those who are unaware, Dhruvkumar Maisuria of Botswana took the most T20I wickets—50—in 22 games, while Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka took the most—50—in 26 matches. Both players represent ICC Full-Member nations.
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