Kuldeep Yadav has been a match-winner for India in the shorter formats. Now, he is beginning to make a mark in Tests.
He said here on Saturday that bowling with Ravindra Jadeja at the other end helped him.
“Jadeja bowls his overs quickly and bowls a good line so it gets easier to bowl from the other end. Then you can try different things and use variations. The wicket is quite good for the spinners; there is turn and bounce."
The left-arm wrist spinner said senior spinners R. Ashwin and Jadeja had motivated him to bowl in the right areas in the nets when he was not a part of the Test eleven.
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On foxing Usman Khawaja, Kuldeep said, “I was thinking of bowling the wrong ‘un to him. I was bowling over the wicket and I knew that he would come after me and maybe hit me through mid-wicket or mid on. I was lucky that the wrong ‘un pitched in the perfect area and straightened and he hit it to mid-wicket.”
Playing his first Test of the series, Kuldeep conceded he was nervous. He, however, added the nature of the pitch never bothered him. “For me, pitches have never made a difference, whether I am playing on a turning track or a flat wicket."
Kuldeep did not have a successful outing in the Lord’s Test last year and said he learnt from the experience. “For a spinner it’s very important to follow the basics, give a little flight, deceive the batsman in the air, land in the perfect area and turn the ball.”
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The left-arm Chinaman bowler said Dhoni had helped him from behind the wickets in the shorter formats. “Rishabh also keeps telling, a wicket-keeper will tell you things. The more red ball cricket you play the more you learn.”
Appreciative of India’s close catching and fielding Kuldeep said, “We have the best fielding coach in R Sridhar. I feel we are the best catching team in the world.”
Not capitalising on starts
Australian opener Marcus Harris said, “Disappointing not to get 100 but it was good to spend some time in the middle and at least get a decent score. I played a poor shot to get out.”
On his game-plan against spin, the left-handed opener said, “I always have a goal against the spinners, want to be aggressive early and get those fielders out.”
On the inability of the Australian batsmen to consolidate on starts, Harris said, “We haven’t had a meeting yet but I got a start, a few of us got a start but none of us went on for a big score. So it’s pretty simple to work out what went wrong.”
He said, “We are still fighting. Still, a bit to play in the first innings. We are a young group and are trying to work it out and think on our feet. We’re playing against the No.1 side in the world."
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