Milind Kumar's ODI career started with a golden duck, but he's had few blemishes since to become the fastest Associate player to 1,000 ODI runs. He reached the landmark with a century as part of a record-breaking 264-run partnership in a win over UAE. 

Photo credit: Emirates Cricket Board/ICC

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
Milind Kumar’s phenomenal form on tour in the UAE reached new highs on Monday as he became the fastest Associate player to reach 1,000 runs in ODIs during a record-breaking 264-run unbeaten stand with Sai Mukkamalla as USA romped their way to a 243-run win over the UAE at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Having already made three half-centuries on tour, Milind went one better with his third ODI century, eventually finishing 123 not out off 125 balls, passing 1,000 ODI runs in just 21 innings. 
 
Milind’s achievement broke the mark previously held by Oman’s Aqib Ilyas, who did it in 22 innings, and tied him for the fourth fastest to do it all-time putting him alongside Viv Richards and Kevin Pietersen among others who did it in 21 innings. Milind also broke the USA mark of fewest innings to 1,000 career runs, including matches without ODI status, which had been done in 22 innings by former captain Sushil Nadkarni. 
 
The partnership between Milind and Mukkamalla also set a mark for the largest partnership by any Associate tandem in ODIs. That mark had been held by Jersey’s Josh Lawrenson and Asa Tribe, who added 232 in a win over Papua New Guinea at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in Namibia. They also broke the USA all-time partnership record of 213 which had been set in 2010 by Orlando Baker and Aditya Thyagarajan against Argentina at the ICC Americas Division One Championship in Bermuda. USA’s previous high partnership in ODIs had been made by Sushant Modani and Monank Patel in 2022, who added 209 against Oman in Texas. 
 
The pair came together at 28 for 3 in the eighth over and batted through to the end as USA eventually finished on 292 for 3 before bowling out UAE for 49 in reply. That marked the lowest total ever made by an opponent against USA, which previously had been Suriname’s 60 all out at Lauderhill in 2008 in a match which USA won by 305 runs led by Nadkarni’s 197. 
 
The dominance evident in the final margin and result was a far cry from how USA started the day after UAE won the toss and sent USA in to bat first in good new-ball conditions. USA were 7 for 2 after losing both openers in the first 13 balls of play. Smit Patel checked a drive against left-arm pacer Muhammad Rohid which resulted in a gently lobbed catch to mid-on for 5 in the second over. Three balls later, Shayan Jahangir fished at a length ball away from his body and edged to first slip off Junaid Siddique for 2. USA captain Monank Patel drove Siddique for four in the seventh, but Siddique’s persistence at pitching the ball up resulted in another drive that this time found the outside edge for another catch to first slip for 15 to make it 28 for 3 after 7. 
 
But that was the last time a USA player went back to the dugout as Mukkamalla and Milind dominated the next three hours of play. Each player brought up their half-century off 71 balls, Mukkamalla doing it first with his sixth boundary flicked off the pads through fine leg off Harshit Kaushik in the 24^th over. Milind then did it with a single off Siddique in the 35^th as the platform had been laid for an imposing total. Mukkamalla was the first to reach three figures as well – all three of his ODI centuries have come against UAE – doing it off 126 balls with a single off Rohid in the 40^th over. 
 
A straight six over long-on that barely cleared a leaping fielder at long-on off Rohid in the 44^th over brought up the double-century partnership between the two. Milind then crossed three figures off 115 balls with a single in the 48^th off Siddique. The next time he got back on strike, he started to open up by scooping Siddique over fine leg for his 10^th boundary. His only six came in the final over when a drive to the fielder at long-off was spilled over the rope when he was on 111. The next legal delivery was driven over long-on for four before a two off the final ball took him to his end total of 123 not out. Mukkamalla ended on 137 not out off 149 balls at the other end, finishing with 10 fours and three sixes to claim Player of the Match honors. 
 
Siddique’s opening spell contained much promise for the hosts, but he ended with 2 for 60 off his 10. Fellow new-ball pacer Rohid returned 1 for 69 off his 10 overs. Haider Ali was UAE’s most economical bowler on the day, returning 0 for 40 off 10 including a maiden. Their least economical bowler was Zahid Ali, who conceded 0 for 42 off six overs. 
 
USA’s two batting stars weren’t alone in setting records on the day though as Smit Patel set a mark for USA in ODIs with six dismissals behind the stumps in the course of USA bowling out the hosts for 49. Previously, Akeem Dodson achieved the same feat for USA but in a different format as his six dismissals behind the stumps came in a T20 World Cup Qualifier match against Jersey in 2015. Smit teamed up on three of his six dismissals with Rushil Ugarkar, who came back into the XI for Nosthush Kenjige. Ugarkar also created history by taking a five-wicket haul in just his third match at age 22 which made him the quickest and youngest USA player to do so in ODIs. The youngest player to take five wickets in a 50-over match for USA with or without ODI status is Timroy Allen, who claimed 5 for 7 against Suriname as a 21-year-old fast bowler in the aforementioned match at Lauderhill in 2008. 
 
It was former captain Saurabh Netravalkar who started the cascade of wickets in the field by striking with his fourth ball when Alishan Sharafu charged down the wicket for a cross-batted swipe that resulted in an edge behind to Smit for a duck. Aryansh Sharma was Ugarkar’s first victim in the fourth over, chasing a length ball wide outside off for an edge that Smit collected for his second catch. Two balls later, Shoaib Khan attacked a full outswinger from Ugarkar that found the outside edge before landing in Smit’s gloves to make it 2 for 3. Muhammad Shahdad battled to make 1 off 18 balls before he succumbed to Netravalkar, prodding forward only to edge behind for Smit’s fourth catch to make it 10 for 4. 
 
Netravalkar took his third wicket four balls later for the first dismissal not involving Smit as Kaushik defended down the wrong line to be given lbw for 1 to make it 12 for 5 in the seventh over. Ugarkar matched Netravalkar stride for stride by the end of the following over, trapping Muhammad Waseem with a length ball that struck him stuck on the crease to win an lbw appeal for 8 as UAE slipped further to 14 for 6. Ugarkar took his fourth in the 10^th over as Zahid Ali drove at a full length ball and edged behind for Smit’s fifth catch to make it 16 for 7. 
 
Ugarkar’s opening spell ended after seven overs, and Netravalkar after eight. But there was no respite for UAE as Shubham Ranjane struck with his fourth ball after replacing Netravalkar in the 17^th. Dhruv Parashar overbalanced while trying to flick a full ball angled down the leg side and was expertly stumped off a wide by Smit for 5 to make it 28 for 8. After a record-setting day with the bat, Milind chipped in with the ball in the 20^thover, slanting an arm ball into the pads of Haider Ali to win an lbw appeal for 6 which ended UAE’s best partnership of the day – 13 runs – to make it 41 for 9. 
 
Ugarkar returned for a second spell in the 21^st to have a shot at a maiden five-wicket haul for USA and secured the feat to clinch the match off the first ball of the 23^rd over. A fullish length ball angled into leg stump defeated Siddique’s heave across the line to wind up as the only bowled dismissal in the UAE innings as Siddique fell for a top score of 10, equal to the number of extras conceded by USA. 
 
Aside from Ugarkar’s 5 for 22 in 8.1 overs, Netravalkar ended with 3 for 4 in his eight overs, which included four maidens. Milind claimed 1 for 5 off two overs while Ranjane returned 1 for 14 off his two. Jessy Singh also bowled two overs, both of which were maidens. 
 
The clean sweep for USA in their four matches in the UAE extended their lead at the top of the ICC Cricket World Cup League Two points table. USA now has 36 points from 24 matches with 12 matches remaining. It’s a major improvement from the previous cycle of CWC League Two, when USA finished in fifth place with just 35 points, which resulted in them falling back to the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff. Scotland are currently in second place with 30 points, six behind USA. Meanwhile, UAE remain anchored to the bottom of the table with just eight points from 19 matches. 
 
USA’s next scheduled action in Cricket World Cup League Two is not until May 2026 when they are due to host Namibia and UAE for a tri-series at a location to be determined. USA’s two remaining series to be held later in 2026 are a tour of Canada (with Netherlands as the third team) and a tour of Nepal (with Scotland as the third team).