Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
Kuldeep delivers the perfect spell against Pakistan
The version of Kuldeep we see today is able to exert control and pry for wickets even when the odds aren’t stacked in his favour.
Four years ago, at Old Trafford in Manchester, Kuldeep Yadav conjured the perfect ball to Babar Azam. It was laced with all the ingredients that wrist spinners dream about – generous flight, deadly drift, dip and sharp spin. It was certainly too good for Azam, the ball flighted a few metres outside off stump, drawing him across with the drift before spinning back sharply to breach the gap between bat and pad and hit middle stump.
That was Kuldeep in 2019, capable of producing rippers like that but also prone to the rank bad ball in every over. Against the same opponents on Saturday, Kuldeep may not have produced the perfect ball, but what he did deliver was the perfect spell (10-0-35-2). One that enabled the left-arm wrist spinner to change the complexion of this high-voltage game entirely.
Though the surface wasn't particularly conducive to spin, the version of Kuldeep we see today is able to exert control and pry for wickets even when the odds aren’t stacked in his favour. When Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, two fine players of spin, were going strong for example, the 28-year-old stuck to a tight line, knowing that the search for wickets couldn’t come at the cost of too many runs.
His first seven overs went for only 27 runs, and when Mohammed Siraj removed Azam, Kuldeep found an opening.
Also Read | How Bumrah, Kuldeep got Pakistan from 155/2 to 191 all-out in collapse of ages
In the 33rd over, he first trapped Saud Shakeel leg-before, thanks to the assistance of the Decision Review System that reversed the on-field umpire’s not out verdict. The left-hand batter should have been taking a forward stride to a ball that was full, but he was deceived by the flatter trajectory and committed a costly error by hanging back. Just four balls later – never mind the short ball that was punished – Kuldeep got the better of Iftikhar Ahmed too. This time it was a wrong ’un that landed on Ahmed’s leg stump, and a stroke of luck meant the ball hit the batter’s glove before deflecting onto the stumps.
Kuldeep’s performance was further evidence of the strides he has made over the past 18 months. Since returning to the Indian team in February 2022 after a knee surgery, he has claimed 50 scalps in 28 matches, embracing the mantle of India’s lead spinner in 50-over cricket among a host of contenders. He also seems to relish his duels against Pakistan, with his tally now reading 12 wickets in six games at an economy of 3.77. Just last month, he took 5/25 against them at the Asia Cup in Colombo.
“I have been playing for one-and-a-half years after my surgery. My run up has become straighter. My rhythm has become aggressive. My approach is good. My hand (non-bowling arm) perhaps used to fall a bit earlier. Now that has come under control. It is pointing more towards the batter. That has helped me a lot,” Kuldeep had said during the Asia Cup, where he finished as the highest wicket-taker.
Key to Kuldeep getting back on track – he was in and out after the 2019 ODI World Cup -- has been the increase in his average speeds. While flight, drift and dip were components of his armoury even earlier, batters of a certain stature seemed to have ample time to adjust and play him off the backfoot. Not anymore. Shakeel’s dismissal on Saturday is a case in point.
“Perhaps my pace has increased a bit, which is helping me. At the same time, I’ve not lost my spin or drift. That hasn’t gone away. I mainly think about hitting a good length as much as possible as a wrist spinner. What I think is that if you don’t bowl loose balls and stay consistent, it increases your chances of being successful,” he said.
The changes are certainly bearing fruit. At this World Cup, Kuldeep has returned figures of 2/42, 1/40 and 2/35. He’s not only giving his team control with his improved command over line and length but also providing critical breakthroughs in the middle overs. Never mind the perfect ball, he’s basically delivering the perfect spell time and again.
