For the third T20I against South Africa, Kuldeep Yadav believes Suryakumar’s “gift” to be greater than his five wickets

Kuldeep Yadav gave a stellar performance on his birthday. On Thursday, the 29-year-old left arm wrist spinner became the first male cricket player to win five wickets in a T20I match on his birthday. In addition, he became the first Indian spinner to record two five-wicket hauls in the game’s shortest format and the second Indian men’s cricket player after Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The left-arm spinner claimed that the greatest birthday present he had ever received was captain Suryakumar Yadav’s record-tying fourth T20I century. Surya became the third player in T20I history to reach 100 runs in 56 balls, surpassing both Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma. It set the stage for India to smash 201 for 7 in the third Twenty20 International, a target the Proteas were unable to meet after they were bowled out for 95 in 13.5 overs.

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“I think it was Surya bhai’s batting. That was the biggest gift,” Kuldeep said when asked to choose the best gift (wickets) among his five. “He batted brilliantly. The way he was batting was great to watch because the pitch was not that easy for batting. It was really a treat to watch him bat,” Kuldeep said.

“It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets. I just wanted the team to win which is more important,” Kuldeep said in the post-match press conference.