Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly led the applause for Kuldeep Yadav after his match-winning hat-trick against Australia in the second One-Day International at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
The left-arm spinner returned figures of 3 for 54, taking the wickets of Mathew Wade, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins off consecutive deliveries in the 33rd over, to become only the third Indian, after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev, to record the rare feat in ODI cricket.
"@imkuldeep18 & @yuzi_chahal didn't just bowl well but actually spun the game in India's favour! Superb batting @imVkohli & @ajinkyarahane88," batting icon Tendulkar posted on his Twitter page.
Former India captain Ganguly on his part said: "It was a special spell. He bowled brilliantly. He still has a long way to go and is an asset for the team."
Incidentally, Kapil's feat in the 1991 Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka had also come at the Eden, which was a witness to Harbhajan Singh's famous hat-trick during the 2001 Kolkata Test against Australia.
Asked to compare Harbhajan's hat-trick with that of Kuldeep's, Ganguly, who was then captain of the Indian team, refused to.
"I don't want to compare; it's not easy to get a hat-trick," declared Ganguly, who led India to a remarkable Test victory over Australia in 2001.
Gautam Gambhir, Kuldeep's captain at IPL team Kolkata Knight Riiders, was also ecstatic about the feat.
"Colour of ur outfit may hav changed frm @KKRiders purple to @BCCI blue but d mystery around ur bowling remains d same....bravo @imkuldeep18," posted Gambhir on his Twitter page.
Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif was also effusive in praise of the spinner from his home state of Uttar Pradesh.
"Kuldeep Yadav is a rare & special talent. Delighted with his progress. Great hat-trick @imkuldeep18 & a wonderful victory for India.
