Happy Birthday Jaydev Unadkat: Top Spells and Key Facts About the Saurashtra Pacer – News18

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAYDEV UNADKAT: Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat, who leads Saurashtra in first-class cricket, has endured a lot of turbulence in his international career. Having an exceptional ability to swing the ball both ways, Unadkat first raised eyebrows after leading the Indian pace attack in the 2010 U-19 World Cup. His stunning performance paved the way for Unadkat to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The left-arm-pacer represented Kolkata Knight Riders in his debut IPL season, with the team’s then-bowling coach Wasim Akram branding him as a future prospect.

The breakthrough finally came in 2017 when Jaydev Unadkat finished the season with 24 wickets for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. He turned out to be the costliest buy in the following IPL auction, with Rajasthan Royals securing his signature.

Despite enjoying tremendous success in the IPL and in the domestic tournaments, Unadkat failed to show consistency in the Blue jersey. He made his international debut in 2010 during a Test series in South Africa and played his first ODI three years later in Zimbabwe.

Today, on October 18, Jaydev Unadkat celebrates his 32nd birthday. On this special occasion, let’s take a look at some of his magical spells in international and domestic circuits:

Jaydev Unadkat Magical Spells

1. 5-23 For Saurashtra vs Himachal Pradesh, 2022Saurashtra claimed the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well as the Ranji Trophy in 2022, with their captain Jaydev Unadkat leading from the front. His best performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy came against defending champions Himachal Pradesh. Unadkat ripped through the opposition’s top order to grab a five-wicket haul. None of the top seven batters from Himachal Pradesh managed a two-digit score. They were bundled out for 134 runs, with Saurashtra securing a comfortable 8-wicket win.
2. 5-25 For Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals, 2013Jaydev Unadkat recorded his best IPL performance in the 2013 season. In a match against Delhi Capitals, Unadkat demonstrated his quality while bowling against some legendary batters like Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene. He fetched five wickets in the match while giving away just 25 runs, helping RCB secure a thrilling victory.
3. 3-38 For India vs Bangladesh, 2018It was in the 2018 Nidahas Tri-series when Jaydev Unadkat showed his calibre with the new ball. He claimed a three-wicket haul to demolish the Bangladesh batting unit. Unadkat picked two crucial wickets of Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman as India bowled out Bangladesh for 139 runs. The Men in Blue did not face much trouble during the chase.

Key Facts About Jaydev Unadkat

After making his Test debut in 2010, Jaydev Unadkat had to wait as long as 12 years to play his second red-ball game for India. In 2022, he featured in an away Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur.

Unadkat holds the record for the first-ever hat-trick in the opening over of a Ranji Trophy game. He achieved the feat during Saurashtra’s match against Delhi in January 2023.

Unadkat is one of the few Indian cricketers who have featured in England’s County Cricket. He has represented Sussex, a team captained by another player from Saurashtra, Cheteshwar Pujara.

During his career thus far, Unadkat has featured in 22 international matches across all formats, having picked 9 wickets in ODIs and 3 wickets in Tests. The Gujarat pacer also has 14 T20I wickets under his belt.

In his 94 IPL appearances, Unadkat has taken a total of 91 wickets including two five-wicket hauls. He now plays for Lucknow Super Giants in the T20 competition.