Kuldeep Yadav continues to produce eye-catching performances with the ball and in the ongoing Test in Ranchi against England, he showed drastic improvement with the bat as well.
With India reeling at 177/7 in response to England’s 353-all out on Day 2, Kuldeep joined forces with Dhruv Jurel to dig his team out of a hole and into a position of strength by the time the play came to an end on the third day.
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On a challenging wicket, Kuldeep faced 131 deliveries and scored 28 runs including eight via a couple of boundaries. India would eventually be bowled out for 307 and thus denying England a big lead.
And then with the ball, he combined with Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl England out for 145 to ensure India will not be chasing daunting target on a deteriorating pitch.
Ashwin took a five-for while Kuldeep four-fer.
Ashwin was watching his younger teammate intently, noticing the run-up, change of pace and trajectory to set up the batters.
“I thought Kuldeep bowled brilliantly,” Ashwin said on JioCinema after the end of Day 3. “What I loved about Kuldeep today was the way he worked on his run-up, momentum and all that sort of stuff,. We all know how much revs he can put on the ball, what skill he has got. The change of pace that changes the trajectory, which he is willing to do now… I think he’s now double the bowler that he is. Really happy for him.
“I just stole the fifer away from him. That’s how the game goes,” Ashwin quipped.
Kuldeep isn’t a mug with the bat and has a first-class century to his name. His solid defensive display kept the Indian dressing room calm and lifted his team out of deep trouble.
“It was hard on him (Kuldeep) yesterday, we sent him to bat a bit too early than what he would have desired,” Ashwin said. “I felt his defence was good, he showed a lot of grit and composure, kept the dressing room calm and it was even better from Jurel I thought, for someone who was playing just his second Test match, he showed great composure, trusted his defence, had a great gameplan, didn’t go bonkers, picked the right bowlers to hit and yeah, it gave us a great boost.”
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