Kuldeep Yadav produced a masterful spell to rattle England batters on Day 1 of the ongoing fifth Test at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on March 7. The 29-year-old spinner claimed five wickets in the first innings, conceding 72 runs across 15 overs to bowl out England for just 218. His remarkable effort marked his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, earning him a spot alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah in a prestigious club of Indian bowlers.
Kuldeep clocks big milestone
Kuldeep has now become just the fifth Indian, following Ashwin, Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to achieve the milestone of taking 50 wickets in all three formats of international cricket. Since his international debut against Australia on March 25, 2017, at the same venue, Kuldeep has accumulated impressive figures: 51 wickets in 12 Tests, 168 in 103 ODIs, and 59 in 35 T20Is.
Ashwin, participating in his 100th Test for India in Dharamsala, boasts 508 Test wickets, 156 in ODIs, and 72 in T20Is. Jadeja has taken 293 Test wickets, 220 in ODIs, and 53 in T20Is. Bhuvneshwar's tally includes 63 Test, 141 ODI, and 90 T20I wickets, while Bumrah has secured 157 Test, 149 ODI, and 74 T20I wickets.
Notably, Kuldeep grabbed the wickets of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes in his back-breaking spell.
Indian players to snare 50 wickets across formats:
| Players | Tests | ODIs | T20Is |
| R Ashwin | 508* | 156 | 72 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 293* | 220 | 53 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 157* | 149 | 74 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 63 | 141 | 90 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 51* | 168 | 59 |
By claiming his first wicket in this match, Kuldeep surpassed the legendary Bishan Singh Bedi's total of 273 international wickets, moving up to the 17th position among India's highest wicket-takers. Bedi, who passed away last year, had taken 273 wickets in 77 international appearances, including 267 in 67 Tests and six in 10 ODIs. If Kuldeep manages to add at least three more wickets in this match, he will surpass Ravi Shastri's record of 280 wickets for India in international cricket.
India's Playing XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England's Playing XI
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.
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