Kuldeep Yadav missed taking a hat-trick against KKRImage Credit source: PTI
70 matches of the league stage of IPL 2026 were completed but not even a single hat-trick was seen in this season. Every effort of the bowlers of all the 10 teams failed but no bowler got success. Delhi Capitals’ star spinner Kuldeep Yadav came closest to achieving this feat. In the last league match of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep Yadav missed a hat-trick and the reason was his own teammate, who dropped an easy catch.
Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata to host the last match of IPL 2026 KKR and Delhi Played between. Both the teams were out of the playoffs even before this match. In such a situation, this match did not have much importance but for both the teams and some of their players, this match was like a battle of honor. Delhi’s left arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was one of them. Kuldeep, who failed miserably this season, played a big role in the team’s victory in the last match.
Who stopped Kuldeep from a hat-trick?
In response to the target of 204 runs given by Delhi, Kolkata seemed to be in a good position at one time but then Kuldeep wreaked havoc. He dismissed Cameron Green in his very first over. Then in the third over, he sent Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh back to the pavilion on consecutive balls. In such a situation, Kuldeep had a chance for a hat-trick and in front of him was the new batsman Tejashwi Dahiya, who was playing his first IPL season.
Kuldeep also created a chance on the hat-trick ball, when Tejashwi’s bat hit the edge. But wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel took this easy catch. Even after coming out of his gloves, the ball went towards the slip fielder but the ball remained a little away from captain Akshar Patel. In this way Kuldeep missed his first hat-trick in IPL. He also openly expressed his anger on his fellow players.
Great performance in the last match
Even though Kuldeep could not score a hat-trick, this match was good for him, where he took 3 wickets for 29 runs in 4 overs. On this basis Delhi won the match by 40 runs. The end of the season was good for Kuldeep too. Due to poor form, he was dropped from the last 2 matches. Overall, Kuldeep could take only 10 wickets in 12 matches this season, where his average was 38.10 and economy rate was 10.29.
