India’s spinner Kuldeep Yadav was delighted after he played a key role in the team’s 188-run win against Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chhatogram on Sunday. Yadav returned with career-best bowling figures of 8-113 as he was at his best against the Tigers.
The wrist-spinner scalped his third five-wicket haul in the first innings. Yadav accounted for the experienced duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim in the first essay. There was a lot of help for the spinners in the first innings and Yadav was able to make the most of it.
Thus, he played an instrumental role in skittling out the opposition at 150 runs. Meanwhile, the Indian bowlers had to work hard for their wickets in the second innings as the pitch was flat. However, India was able to reap their rewards as the bowlers were right on the money.
Yadav continued his good show of the first innings as he took three more wickets in the second dig. The chinaman spinner dismissed Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, and Ebadot Hossain in the second essay.
The 28-year-old revealed he has been working on the rhythm of his action and wanted to be more aggressive.
Yadav was awarded the Player of the Match for his fine bowling show. He said in the post-match presentation, “To be very honest I am happy with the performance, both with bat and ball. The first innings the pitch was quicker than the second innings. There was some pace in the first innings, but the second innings was very challenging. It was slower. so I was trying to work on my rhythm and bowl quicker. Probably more revs on the ball make it challenging for the batters and it is difficult to step down and drive as well (why wrist spinners have that extra edge). I just worked on my rhythm and tried to be more aggressive and it’s helped me a lot. The action is the same, just trying to be aggressive in the rhythm (about working on his bowling).”
Yadav hasn’t got consistent chances in the final XI but he was able to prove his mettle in the first Test against the hosts. Furthermore, he was able to play a crucial knock of 40 runs in the first innings to help India get past the 400-run mark.
Kuldeep has picked 34 wickets in eight Test matches at an average of 21.56. The second Test match will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka from December 22.
