‘There was some pressure’: Kuldeep Yadav reveals how discussions with Ashwin helped him ‘bowl in right areas’

While speaking on Star Sports, Kuldeep also spoke about the pressure of playing a Test match after such a long time.

Leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was back in whites after a long gap of two years. He replaced all-rounder Washington Sundar in India's XI for the second Test against England and contributed with two crucial wickets – Ben Foakes and Moeen Ali – in the second innings to help the hosts win by 317 runs and level the series 1-1.

Indian leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav (Twitter)

After the match ended, the Chinaman bowler revealed how discussions with Ravichandran Ashwin, who was adjudged the man of the match in 2nd Test, helped him bowling in the right areas. While speaking on Star Sports, Kuldeep also spoke about the pressure of playing a Test match after such a long time.

“It was important to stay along with the team when it's playing well. My job was to keep control, contain runs from one end, and chip in as one of the three spinners on this track. We have been planning for this series for a long time, right from the Australia series.

“There was some pressure, having not played a lot of Tests in the last two years. Was discussing a lot with Ashwin regarding bowling in right areas and putting the pressure on the batsmen,” Kuldeep told Star Sports.

“We weren't worried after losing the first Test. We have been in such situations before, in my first series in 2017. We had lost the first Test against Australia in Pune. We're relaxed, we knew we had the team to come back and perform. Everyone was just focused on doing well in this Test,” he added.

After losing the first Test by 227 runs, India made a strong comeback and thumped Joe Root’s England in the second Test in Chennai. Local hero Ashwin starred with a glorious all-round performance as he picked a total of eight wickets (including a five-wicket haul in the first innings) followed by a magnificent hundred in the second.

Following this big win, Virat Kohli-led India remains in the race of ICC World Test Championship finale. However, they would need to win series either 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify.

Team India has also moved up to the second position with 69.7 percentage points on the points table. England, on the other hand, slipped to the fourth spot with 67.0 percentage points.

After the completion of the second Test, both teams will fly to Ahmedabad where the last two matches are scheduled to be held. The third Test, which is going to be a day-night affair, begins on February 24 at Motera stadium.