India's left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is on a roll with his ODI career and has become a reliable wicket-taking force for team India in the middle overs of the ODI format. The 28-year-old is proving too hot to handle for teams in the ongoing Asia Cup and was instrumental in India's hard-fought win over Sri Lanka on Tuesday, September 12 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The 28-year-old spinner claimed a match-winning four-wicket haul against the Lankan Lions and turned out to be a thorn in their low-scoring run chase. Kuldeep bagged two important wickets first up in his spell as he got the better of Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka who were threatening to take the game away from India's grasp.
After causing havoc early in his spell, the Kanpur-born returned at the end to mop Sri Lanka's tail as he snared the scalps of Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana in a space of three deliveries to put an end to the hopes of the Dasun Shanaka-led side.
Kuldeep is enjoying a red-hot form with the ball in hand. He was also magnificent in the crucial fixture against Pakistan earlier as he helped the Men in Blue dismantle their batting order by claiming five wickets.
Kuldeep's recent success has propelled him forward in the bowling charts of 2023. He is now the joint-second-leading wicket-taker in ODIs in 2023 alongside Karan Chettri of Nepal with 31 poles to his credit. Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane is leading the charts with 43 wickets in his kitty in 21 games, including two four-fors and a five-wicket haul.
On the other hand, Kuldeep has played six games less than Lamicahhane and looks on course to finish the calendar year with the most wickets to his name in ODIs. His dream run in ODIs in 2023 has seen him claim two four-fers and a fifer. He has bagged a total of 150 ODI wickets and played 88 games in his ODI career.
Meanwhile, India have made it to the final of the ongoing Asia Cup. They beat Sri Lanka in a high-voltage clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium to advance to the summit clash and will be joined by either the defending champions or Pakistan.
