Champions Trophy: After Axar, Kuldeep misses out on elusive hat-trick! Guess the culprit!

In the high-stakes match against Pakistan, wily leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav came tantalisingly close to the rare feat of a hat-trick in the historic tournament, only to be denied by a resolute Naseem Shah. Before being thwarted by the Pakistani pacer, Kuldeep had dismissed Salman Ali Agha and Shaheen Afridi in back-to-back deliveries.

It should be noted that in India’s first group match against Bangladesh, Axar Patel was also on the verge of completing a hat-trick before skipper Rohit Sharma spilled a sitter in the slips. The video of Rohit apologising to the spinner after dropping the catch went viral on social media.

Now, bad luck seems to have come in the way of the street-smart Kuldeep Yadav as well!

Pakistan Innings
Saud Shakeel and Rizwan put up a crucial 104-run stand, anchoring the Pakistani innings in the early stages. However, as the match progressed, Indian bowlers tightened their grip, making scoring difficult for the Pakistani batters.