CHENNAI: When Australian warhorses David Warner and Steve Smith were building a steady stand for the second wicket against India, Kuldeep Yadav’s crafty left-arm wrist spin broke the well-settled duo’s partnership. Warner was caught and bowled on 41, looking bewildered as he spooned one back to Kuldeep. He then stared at the pitch while a chuffed Kuldeep kissed the ball and looked up at the sky.
There was lot of competition for the spinners’ slots in the lead-up to the World Cup. But it was the left-arm wrist- spinner’s recent performances that made the selectors go for him ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal. After a dip in form which led to his ouster from the Indian team in 2021, a few months of hard work — straightening the run-up, accelerating the pace and tweaks in his bowling — have worked like magic for the Kanpur man.
“Many people had told me that my deliveries needed more pace, but no one told me how to do it,” said Kuldeep.
1/10:World Cup: India vs Australia numbers and stats
Reuters
2/10:India beat Australia
<p>India fought back from 2/3 — the lowest score at which the 3rd wicket has fallen from which a team has gone on to win an ODI — to beat Australia by 6 wickets. </p>TNN
3/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have provided the first instance of three Indian batters out of the top four registering ducks in an ODI innings. </p>Getty Images
4/10:Virat Kohli, KL Rahul
<p>The 165-run stand between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul was India's best against Australia for any wicket in a World Cup game. </p>PTI
5/10:The match-winning stand
<p>The Kohli-Rahul partnership was also India's third-best for the fourth wicket in ODIs against Australia. </p>PTI
6/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs by an Indian in white-ball ICC tournaments. </p>AFP
7/10:Kohli vs Tendulkar
<p>Kohli's extraordinary achievement came in his 67th match with 2785 runs, surpassing Tendulkar's record of 2,719 runs in 61 matches. </p>PTI
8/10:Ravindra Jadeja
<p>Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), not only produced his best bowling performance in the World Cup, but also his best vs Australia in ODIs. </p>Getty Images
9/10:Jadeja in World Cup
<p>Jadeja's previous best in the World Cup was 2/23 vs UAE at Perth on February 28, 2015. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Steve Smith
<p>Jadeja has dismissed Steve Smith 11 times, including five times this year, in 37 matches in international cricket. </p>TNNIn the 2021 IPL in the UAE, Kuldeep twisted his right knee and had to go under the knife. That moment proved to be a blessing in disguise as former physio Ashish Kaushik gave him valuable advice.
“When I was recovering from injury, it was former physio Ashish who advised that ‘when you come back try to take less load on the right foot’. After I completed the rehab, I tried to implement that in my training and I could see the results slowly. It took some time to get the rhythm. It didn’t happen overnight; it took me five to six months to perfect it,” Kuldeep said. Attacking the stumps more in white-ball cricket helped Kuldeep.
“In white-ball formats, you need to keep hitting the stumps, that’s more important for any spinner. When you play Tests, it’s okay to bowl a bit wide, but here there are restrictions on the field positions. You have to keep it in the stumps because it increases the chances to get wickets. That’s exactly what I was trying to do on Sunday,” he added.
The delivery which removed dangerman Glenn Maxwell was bowled at a faster pace than his usual and the Aussie allrounder couldn’t deal with it.
“Chepauk pitch wasn’t a slow turner, but I had to increase the pace of my deliveries so that the batters don’t get the extra time. That’s how I got Maxwell. He didn’t get the time to react. Along with the turn, pace on the deliveries also becomes important,” explained Kuldeep.
India’s formidable spin trio of Kuldeep, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja worked in tandem to claim six wickets as India bowled out Australia for 199.
Kuldeep said the three bond extremely well.
“I have been with the Test team for the past six years. And obviously, Jaddu and Ashwin are there too. So I have spent a lot of time with them and we have a good understanding. We even talk and discuss a lot on the field,” said Kuldeep.
