Dhoni asked me to keep it at stumps for hat-trick: Kuldeep

New Delhi: Kuldeep Yadav in September 2017 became the first Indian since Kapil Dev in 1991 to take a hat-trick in an ODI match. In the second ODI against Australia, Kuldeep dismissed Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins off consecutive deliveries to all but confirm India's victory in the match.

He said that former India captain M.S. Dhoni, who was keeping wickets for India at the time, had asked him to bowl at the stumps for the hat-trick delivery.

"I spoke to Virat bhai and asked him if I could bowl from the other end. He said once Chahal's spell was over, I could bowl from that end. I struck a very good rhythm and started bowling in the spot," Kuldeep said in a recent interaction on his Indian Premier League (IPL) side Kolkata Knight Riders' website.

"I got my first wicket of Matthew Wade and then in the next ball, I plucked Ashton Agar. For the third ball, I asked Mahi bhai (M.S. Dhoni) what to bowl. When you have so many variations, you get confused. He just let me do whatever I felt was right but suggested that I kept it to the stumps.

"I kept a slip and gully in place. Luckily I bowled a good ball and got the edge. Getting a hat-trick at Eden Garden, that too in the first year of international cricket, is a big thing and this was one of the biggest moments of my life," Kuldeep recalled.

Kuldeep would go on to pick a hat-trick again, this time in December 2019 against the West Indies. He thus became the first Indian bowler to have two ODI hat-tricks to his name.