IND vs WI: Virat Kohli lays emphasis on role of wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav

Virat Kohli feels it becomes difficult for batsmen when a wrist-spinner like Kuldeep Yadav bowls cross-seam deliveries turning both ways. The Indian captain also said having such kind of a bowler in the side is always a bonus.

India captain Virat Kohli praised chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav for his match-winning figures of three for 50 against the West Indies, which helped the visitors win the second ODI at Port of Spain on Sunday by 105 runs.

Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets as India thrashed West Indies by 105 runs in the second ODI of the five-match series at Port of Spain.(Twitter)

(Read | India beat West Indies by 105 runs in 2nd ODI, take 1-0 lead in 5-match series)

Kohli said, “It becomes difficult when he (Kuldeep) bowls the cross-seam deliveries turning both ways. Usually, bowlers bowl the seam-up deliveries turning in, but he can do both with cross seam and that becomes more difficult to pick from the wrist. He is quite amazing with what he does with the ball and I have faced him in the IPL as well. It is not easy to get away when he is bowling, especially (when) the wicket is dry like it was today…credit to him for putting in his first bowling performance in ODIs.”

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The India captain said the addition of a wrist spinner is something that his team has explored recently, and it may yield positive results. “A wrist spinner is always a bonus, something that we have identified now in this series. All kinds of options are open, when you talk about the 2019 World Cup. We have 15 players here, we have a pool of 10 or 12 players ready back home who will probably be tested in the next couple of years. (We’ll) see how they react in pressure situations and who is able to make more impact through the middle overs, especially with the ball,” said Kohli.

Talking about India’s big win in a rain-truncated contest, Kohli said, “As a team it is about doing the things that we can do right and execute our skills to the best of our potential.”

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Kohli praised India’s bowlers despite the fact that they were able to scalp only six wickets. “For the wrist spinner it (the pitch) was doing something, but I think initially it was a bit damp. During the latter half of our innings and their (West Indies) innings to start with, it had dried up nicely. Apart from the wrist spinner, I don’t think the other bowlers were getting too much out of the pitch. Having said that, I think our bowlers bowled really well,” said Kohli.

Kohli said the likes of Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav will need some more time to start playing more aggressively. “All depends on guys like Hardik and Kedar, they have not got much game time in the recent past; so the more games they get under the belt, the better.

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On the trend of attacking the ball early, Kohli opined, “It becomes difficult to start going early (attacking early) because if you lose wickets early the equation becomes a little difficult, especially (in the) Champions Trophy (final). Here (in the West Indies), with a little bit of rain around you are always careful about losing those extra couple of wickets. From the Champions Trophy we have taken that learning forward, something that with more experience in the lower-middle order, we will start implementing that,” he added.

Kohli when reminded that he had become the second-most followed Indian personality on Facebook, said, “(I) have been getting the support from fans since so many years, it is priceless. Keep supporting the team. I was not aware that my likes have gone up. What we are doing and what we are trying to, if people like it then obviously it gives a good feeling.”