Watch: Kuldeep Yadav's Unplayable Stunner Leaves West Indies Star Shai Hope In Disbelief
West Indies batter Shai Hope was left gobsmacked after being dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav on Day 1 of the first Test against India in Ahmedabad.
India's marquee spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, made a memorable return to the playing XI in Test cricket, taking the big wicket of West Indies stalwart Shai Hope on Day 1 of the first Test on Wednesday. Hope completely failed to pick the trajectory of the ball. He played for a straight one, but the ball came in and shattered his stumps. In complete disbelief, Hope refused to leave the pitch for a few seconds, trying to comprehend how Kuldeep managed to get the ball to turn that much on a first-day pitch.
Kuldeep made his way into India's XI after sitting on the bench for the entire five-match series against England. In the home assignment against West Indies, however, the left-arm spinner got the chance as Shubman Gill picked three spin bowlers in the playing XI.
Welcome back to Test cricket, @imkuldeep18!
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His first Test since October 2024 & Kuldeep cleans up Shai Hope just before Lunch!
LUNCH | WI 90/5 (23.2)
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West Indies Reeling After Morning Session
Electing to bat after winning the toss, West Indies were immediately under pressure, losing five wickets for 90 runs before lunch, courtesy of a disciplined Indian bowling attack.
Mohammed Siraj was the wrecker-in-chief early on, exploiting the pitch for swing, seam, and bounce to claim figures of 3-19. He and Jasprit Bumrah constantly threatened the stumps, forcing errors from the top order.
West Indies' troubles began in the opening over when Tagenarine Chanderpaul, returning to the Test side, tickled a leg-side delivery from Siraj to wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel for a duck. John Campbell soon followed, adjudged caught behind on review off Bumrah. Brandon King hit three boundaries but misjudged a Siraj delivery, shouldering arms to a ball that crashed into his middle stump. Siraj completed his three-wicket haul by removing Alick Athanaze, who edged a drive to second slip. This left the visitors reeling at 42/4.
Captains Roston Chase and Shai Hope then attempted a revival, building a solid 48-run partnership. Hope, in particular, looked assured, displaying good back-foot play and intent against the spin options.
However, just as West Indies seemed to have stabilised, Kuldeep Yadav, playing his first Test in over a year, produced a moment of brilliance. He delivered a stunning delivery that drifted, dipped, and turned sharply to breach Hope's defence on an attempted drive, rattling his stumps right at the stroke of lunch.
(With PTI Inputs)
India Cricket Team
West Indies Cricket Team
Shai Hope