USA all-rounder Milind Kumar continued his excellent ODI form against Oman, temporarily moving to the top of an elite all-time list.
In the third match of the sides' tri-series with Canada as part of the Cricket World Cup League 2, USA captain Monank Patel put Oman in to bat in Lauderhill, Florida.
Match 70, USA vs Oman
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Milind Kumar continues stellar form in ODI cricket
After a 41-run opening stand, off-spinner Milind Kumar trapped opener Aamir Kaleem lbw for 24, before repeating the trick to remove No.3 Pruthvikumar Machhi off the very next ball. Saurabh Netravalkar then struck twice right after the powerplay to leave Oman 55-4.
Mohammad Nadeem (40) then put on 104 runs with captain Jatinder Singh, who scored a run-a-ball century before being dismissed the very next ball. At the fall of his wicket, Oman were 186-6 in 40.5 overs. Vinayak Shukla (44) and Hassnain Shah (42) then took over to power USA to 266. Milind Kumar finished with 5-66 from his 9.4 overs.
Also read: India U19 World Cup winner makes maiden international hundred for USA
USA lost Andries Gous inside the powerplay, and had slipped to 99-3 in 25.5 overs when Milind came out to bat. He put on 67 with Saiteja Mukkamalla but then lost his partner, as well as Shayan Jahangir and Sanjay Krishnamurthi in quick succession. Milind was eventually the eighth wicket to fall, for 68, with USA 31 shy of victory.
Jasdeep Singh struck a few big blows to drag his side level by the end of 50 overs, but Oman ended up prevailing in a Super Over, chasing down 14 with relative ease.
The all-round performance extended Milind's superb run of form in 50-over cricket. Against Canada on May 17, he scored a rapid unbeaten 115, and took 2-40. Last September, he scored 74* and 155* in the space of three days against Namibia and UAE.
One of the best all-round records in men's ODIs
Milind Kumar became the first man from the USA, and the 25th overall, to score a half-century and pick up five wickets in a single ODI. He is only the fourth, after Sunil Dhaniram (Canada), Paul Stirling (Ireland) and Gulsan Jha (Nepal) to not end up on the winning side.
Read more: West Indies debutant wanders out of crease after single to be run out in bizarre fashion
Following the latest game, his ODI batting average has risen to 60.36, and his bowling average has improved to 16.08. It means that as things stand, with a cut-off of at least 500 runs and 20 wickets, his average difference – a rough measure of all-round quality – is the best in the history of ODI cricket: 44.28.
Born in Delhi, Milind played for Delhi, Tripura and Sikkim on the Indian domestic circuit and was part of the Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bengaluru squads in the IPL (but never played a game). He later moved to the USA, featuring first in Minor League Cricket before making his international debut in April 2024.
Best average difference in men's ODI history (min. 500 runs & 20 wickets)
| Player | Team(s) | Matches | Bat. Avg. | Bowl. Avg. | Avg. Difference |
| Milind Kumar | USA | 16 | 60.36 | 16.08 | 44.28 |
| Ryan ten Doeschate | Netherlands | 33 | 67.00 | 24.12 | 42.87 |
| Brandon McMullen | Scotland | 31 | 48.73 | 20.82 | 27.91 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | Afghanistan | 39 | 46.95 | 30.05 | 16.90 |
| Gerhard Erasmus | Namibia | 60 | 39.87 | 24.00 | 15.87 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 173 | 49.21 | 35.40 | 13.81 |
| Jacques Kallis | Africa/ICC/South Africa | 328 | 44.36 | 31.79 | 12.56 |
| Aqib Ilyas | Oman | 32 | 44.07 | 31.73 | 12.33 |
| Darren Lehmann | Australia | 117 | 38.96 | 27.78 | 11.17 |
| Viv Richards | West Indies | 187 | 47.00 | 35.83 | 11.16 |
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