ICC World Cup: Kuldeep Yadav repaying Rohit Sharma’s trust in him | Cricket News – Times of India

AHMEDABAD: Kuldeep Yadav went for eight runs in his first over. The lone boundary he conceded was when he strayed down the leg-side and got flicked for four by Imamul-Haq. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, a huge backer of the chinaman bowler, then sent him back in the deep and did not use him for a while. He brought him back on only after Hardik Pandya had dismissed Imam that brought in Mohammad Rizwan.It was a good match up.
Rohit wanted Kuldeep to bowl at Rizwan, who takes more initiative as he is not averse to playing sweeps. But Kuldeep, bowling with Ravindra Jadeja, just tied up the batters with accurate line and length. In five overs, he produced 17 dots.

The sweep shot never came and that told Kuldeep that he had the upper hand.
“They were not attacking too much, so I was just focusing on my pace and my variations. In my first seven overs, I may not have got wickets, but I was hitting the good spots, and the ball was coming out well. On such pitches, where not much is happening and a partnership is on, it is important to bowl on the spot,” Kuldeep told the media in a mixed zone interaction after India’s victory over Pakistan on Saturday.

Kuldeep was right in assessing that both Babar Azam and Rizwan didn’t attack the spinners too much. Their partnership of 83 took 17.5 overs. They played 53 dots, something that coach Mickey Arthur alluded to when he called Pakistan’s batting timid.
Then came the 33rd over, the game-breaking one from Kuldeep. It was an over that the chinaman was not meant to ball at all as Rohit had plans of bringing back Jasprit Bumrah or Ravindra Jadeja.

Says Kuldeep, “Rohit bhai told me to bowl an extra over and that worked as Siraj had just got Babar out and broken a good stand. The captain told me to bowl an extra over as the previous one had also gone well (he conceded just one) and I got two out and that made it difficult for them to build the innings again.”
Kuldeep dismissed Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed in that over. Shakeel’s wicket was a plan that worked to perfection.

The elegant Karachi left-hander is an excellent player of spin. He is also a good sweeper of the ball. But on Saturday, he looked hesitant to play it.
When the first ball of the 33rd over was patted to cover, wicketkeeper KL Rahul yelled from behind, “Sweep coming, KD”. It sowed seeds of doubt in Shakeel and he played back to a full ball, missed it and was caught dead in front.
“I’ve been watching Saud Shakeel in the last couple of games, and he’d been trying to sweep a lot. He thought that ball was slow, but it skidded on,” Kuldeep said.

Kuldeep has had some memorable moments against Pakistan. He got 5-25 in the Super Four game in the Asia Cup. He had also produced a ripper to get Babar Azam out in the 2019 World Cup.
“I have bowled similar deliveries in bilateral games, but because that was a World Cup match, it gets hyped up,” Kuldeep stated.

(AI image)