Kuldeep Yadav reached a major milestone during India’s second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati on Wednesday, September 30, completing 200 wickets in the format. However, his landmark moment was followed by an unfortunate fielding error that denied debutant Auqib Nabi a chance to claim his first ODI wicket. Kuldeep dismissed Keacy Paul to bring up his 200th ODI wicket in his 123rd match, making him the second-fastest Indian bowler to reach the milestone.
Only Mohammed Shami, who achieved the feat in 104 ODIs, reached 200 wickets faster for India. The left-arm wrist-spinner had already taken two wickets when he returned for his 10th over. Earlier, he dismissed West Indies captain Shai Hope after the batter attempted a cross-batted shot and edged the ball towards deep backward point. Auqib Nabi completed the catch to give Kuldeep his first wicket of the innings.
Kuldeep then reached 200 wickets when Paul attempted to hit a tossed-up delivery down the ground but failed to get sufficient elevation. Virat Kohli completed the catch at long-on, allowing Kuldeep to join an elite group of Indian bowlers.
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Among Indian bowlers, Kuldeep is now second behind Shami for the fewest matches required to reach 200 ODI wickets. He has also reached the milestone in 6,319 deliveries, placing him third among spinners behind Saqlain Mushtaq and Rashid Khan.
However, Kuldeep’s memorable outing ended on an uncomfortable note in the 49th over. Nabi bowled a full delivery to Shamar Joseph, who sliced the ball towards backward point. Kuldeep initially ran back towards the boundary before changing direction, but he misjudged the trajectory and ran past the ball.
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The spinner also appeared to lose his footing and hit the back of his head on the ground. Fortunately, he was able to get back up and appeared to be fine. The missed opportunity added to a difficult ODI debut for Nabi. The pacer finished with figures of 8.5-0-84-0, conceding the most runs by an Indian bowler on ODI debut, surpassing Karsan Ghavri’s previous record of 83 runs against England in 1975.
West Indies eventually posted a massive 405/7, their highest ODI total against India and their highest-ever score in the format. John Campbell, Shai Hope and Amir Jangoo all scored centuries, with Campbell making 101 off 68 balls, Hope contributing 104 off 94 and Jangoo smashing 114 off 77.
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Jangoo, batting at No. 4 after West Indies reshuffled their order, said the team successfully executed its plans after learning from the first ODI. He credited Campbell and Hope for providing the platform before explaining that his focus was on adapting to the situation and fulfilling the role assigned to him.
