Kuldeep Yadav takes career-best 10 wickets as Yorkshire beat Essex by an innings and 106 runs

Kuldeep's 10-for sends Essex tumbling — Yorkshire cruise to innings victory

Kuldeep Yadav produced the knockouts performance of the season so far, ripping up a career-best 10 for 120 to send Yorkshire past Essex by an innings and 106 runs at Headingley. Match done in under three days. That's the kind of match-winning leverage you want on your side.

Yorkshire set the tone posting 390 — Bess top-edged an unbeaten 80, Lyth 62, Revis 61, Luxton 50. Essex's Critchley fought back with 5 for 85 but it wasn't enough. They were bowled out for 171, asked to follow on, and collapsed to 113 in the second innings.

The spin pair dismantled them across both innings. Kuldeep went 4 for 70 in the first (20 overs) and 6 for 50 in the second (16 overs) — that's 10 wickets from 36 overs at an economy that's genuinely elite. George Hill was the perfect support act, 5 wickets overall (3 first innings, 2 second), striking twice inside the opening nine overs of the follow-on to put Essex on 14 for 4. Bell's 64* top-scored in the first innings but couldn't save his side.

The standing order:

Yorkshire's 22-point haul with two matches left all but secures top-flight status — fourth win in 12, but this result removes the relegation overhang entirely. Next up: title-chasing Somerset at Home.

Essex are the ones sweating. Sixth defeat of the campaign, sitting in the drop zone, and a stern test awaits at Chelmsford against Warwickshire. That's a must-win situation for them.

From an investment lens — this is exactly the kind of asymmetric value Kuldeep represents. Career-best spell, match completely in the bag, and a result that shifts the Division One table. The market's going to be re-pricing him after this one.

Source: Crictracker